Golden Eaglets and Sweden will tomorrow battle for a place in the final of the FIFA U-17 World Cup here in Dubai, with the Nigerian coach Manu Garba warning the Scandinavians to prepare for fireworks on the Sheiuk Rashid stadium.
Both sides met in the group stage, with the Swedes, who are making their debut in this tournament, holding out for a thrilling 3-3 draw at the Khalifa Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain.
And as both teams prepare for another heavyweight showdown clash, the Nigerian coach insists that his boys have enough weaponry in their arsenal to defeat their foes.
Having scored 20 goals in five matches, the Golden Eaglets remain the best attacking.
Speaking to reporters, Garba who congratulated his boys for defeating Uruguay 2-0, said “We have learned so much playing against Sweden the last time but we shall be ready for them this time around.
Speaking to reporters, Garba who congratulated his boys for defeating Uruguay 2-0, said “We have learned so much playing against Sweden the last time but we shall be ready for them this time around.
Sweden should be ready for the fireworks which we shall fire on them. ”we are going to fly the flag of the continent since so much would be expected from us ,”added Garba.
Coach Manu Garba also confessed that he was missing the on-field contributions of top striker Success Isaac, who was injured in the match against Sweden and has since not featured for the Golden
Eaglets, who are just one match from reaching the final of the FIFA U-17 World Cup in UAE.
Garba said that Isaac embodied the spirit of the team, noting that his absence was missed by the entire team. “I miss Isaac a lot.
Apart from scoring goals, he also assists others to score goals. He embodies the spirit of the team and his contributions cannot be overstated. Before we came here, he had scored in every match that we played and was the top scorer at the African Championship”, said Garba, who added that if Isaac is fit for tomorrow’s match against Sweden that he would start from the bench.
“If he is fit, he will start from the bench because he is just coming from an injury break and cannot just be thrown into the action from the start”, said Garba.
Golden Eaglets midfielder Akinjide Idowu will miss tomorrow’s semi-final showdown against Sweden at the Rashid Stadium in Dubai.
Idowu went into Saturday’s quarter-final against Uruguay with a yellow card to his name and when he bagged another in the encounter, which the Nigerians won 2-0, he was automatically ruled out of the next match.
According statistics obtained by Sports Vanguard from the Federation of International Football Associations, FIFA, Idowu’s yellow card was among the 145 yellow cards so far issued by referees at the ongoing tournament.
It males an average of 3.02 cards per match, below the 172 mark issued at this stage of the tournament in Mexico 2011.
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