Five–time U17 World Champions Nigeria will be hoping to prove their superiority when they start their campaign on today against the two-time winners Ghana when two arch rivals clash in the WAFU B tournament.
The Golden Eaglets are coached by Nduka Ugbade, who captained the Nigeria squad that won the country’s first of five world titles.
Ugbade is confident they can triumph from Group A where they face the hosts and Togo.
In an interview, Ugbade said “I am happy with the squad that we have been able to come up with, and I can say confidently that we are in Ghana to make the nation proud,” Ugbade said.
“Our primary objective is to earn a ticket to the Africa Cup of Nations, and then we go full throttle for the trophy.
“Nigeria has a pedigree in U-17 football and we cannot afford to disappoint.”
In the other game, Cote d’Ivoire will play in Group B alongside Burkina Faso, Benin and Niger with the two sides in each group progressing to the semi-finals.
The two finalists from the competition will feature at the Africa U-17 Cup of Nations in Algeria early next year.
All four semi-finalists in that continental tournament to be played in Algeria will qualify for the FIFA U17 World Cup finals in Peru.
The WAFU B U-17 Cup of Nations qualifiers is scheduled for the Cape Coast stadium from Saturday, June 11 to Friday, June 24, 2022.
