African Games: NFF President Mandates Flying Eagles To Beat Senegal

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president, Ibrahim Gusau, has urged the Flying Eagles to qualify for the semi-final stage of the African Games football event.

The Flying Eagles, who reached the final of the last edition of the African Games in Morocco, have not been at their best in the ongoing edition of the tournament.

In their opening group stage game, coach Ladan Bosso and his boys suffered an unexpected 2-1 defeat at the hands of a lowly-rated Uganda.

The Flying Eagles managed to beat South Sudan 1-0 courtesy of a late-minute penalty scored by Isiyaka Sadiq.

To qualify for the semi-final stage of the African Games and stand a chance of winning their 8th gold medal in the event’s history, they must beat Senegal in their last group stage game on Friday, March 14.

A not-too-happy NFF president, Ibrahim Gusau, has told reporters that he has not been impressed by the performance of the Flying Eagles as he urged them to beat Senegal on Friday.

“Nigeria has a high pedigree in youth football across the globe and that is a fact that should ring loud in the minds of every player wearing the green-white-green at that level. We did not fare well against Uganda and I gave the boys a piece of my mind”, he said.

“Against South Sudan, we should have done more and taken the three points quickly but had to struggle. I believe the players have the potential to do far more and they should start by showing their stuff against Senegal on Friday. It is a match we have to win to reach the semi-finals.”