Ugbade reveals Nigeria’s U17 Africa Cup of Nation drive ahead of ‘difficult’ Burkina Faso showdown

The tactician is keen on leading the Golden Eaglets to the global football showpiece by defeating the Burkinabe

Nigeria are driven by the ambition to qualify for the 2023 FIFA U17 World Cup, according to coach Nduka Ugbade.

The Golden Eaglets bounced back from their 1-0 loss to Morocco to overcome South Africa 3-2 in a five-goal thriller, to earn a quarter-final ticket.

The West Africans are joint-most successful team in the U17 Africa Cup of Nations – nevertheless, they must negotiate their way past Burkina Faso for a place in the last four.

Although they are in the run for a third African crown, the former Super Eagle has revealed a bigger motivation against the Baby Stallions.

“This match will be important for us as it will qualify us for the World Cup,” Ugbade told Caf website.

“Burkina faso has a really good team and we have played against them before and we experienced a very difficult match. We expect it to be the same in the quarter final,” Ugbade said.

“My message before the match to the players is that these competitions are usually intense, and I told them we must have the will and play the match as it should, and stressed that winning makes us qualify for the World Cup.”

Nigeria are the most successful team at the global championship – winning the tournament for a record five times, with their most recent triumph at the 2015 edition staged in Chile.

Should they breeze past Brahima Traore’s team at the Nelson Mandela Stadium, they will lock horns against Senegal in the last four.

The Terranga Cubs strolled past South Africa 5-0 in their quarter-final outing on Wednesday evening.