Flying Eagles are confident of starting the FIFA Under-20 World Cup campaign on a winning note. Speaking ahead of Friday’s opening match against Venezuela, some of the players who spoke to SoccerStar said there will be no hiding place for the South American country when they lock horns at the Al-Salam Stadium on September 25.
“Our target is to win our first match. It’s good we start the competition with a win and anything less than victory will be a total disappointment,” goalkeeper Dele Ajiboye said.
In his words, Kehinde Fatai added: “There won’t be a hiding place for Venezuela on Friday. We had a good training tour in Spain and we are battle-ready to face any of the teams in our group.”
In the same vein, AC Milan whiz-kid, Harmony Ikande, submitted: “We will go out there and do our best on the pitch to earn victory. We need prayers from Nigerians to back us for victory. It’s important that we win our first match because it will show how far we will go in the championship.”
Meanwhile, if feelers coming from the Flying Eagles camp are anything to go by, the team’s captain at the last Africa Youth Championship, Haruna Lukman, may not wear the captain band in Egypt.
SoccerStar authoritatively gathered from the team’s camp that the duo of Daniel Uchechi and Odion Ighalo have been tipped to lead the Flying Eagles against Venezuela. “We will know our captain latest on Wednesday. Uchechi and Ighalo have been shortlisted for it. Chima was the acting captain when we went to Qatar while Odion played for U-23 under Siasia so he knows their leadership qualities,” our source stated.
By OLUSHOLA ALAO, Jos
Monday, September 21, 2009
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