Ugbade: Our motivation is to quench a 16-year wait for the title
Says winning first match good for their psychology
Golden Eaglets’ head coach Nduka Ugbade says the team’s motivation still remains ending Nigeria’s 16-year wait for an African U17 title after his boys defeated Zambia 1-0 to win their opening game of the ongoing U17 Africa Cup of Nations in Algeria.
‘Our motivation is to quench a 16-year wait for the title, and battle to be crowned champions for the third time,’ said the former captain of the Golden Eaglets team that won the cadet trophy in 1985.
He however warned they must take a game at a time like they have done against Zambia which has given the team a psychological boost.
‘Most of the times, for the young teams, the most important thing is psychology. Not physicality, tactics or anything. Winning the first game gives us a mental edge and psychologically, we are better than we started,’ said the tactician.
‘We created lots of chances that we couldn’t finish, some passes were not correct and many more errors. But the good thing is that we keep improving,’ said Ugbade.
The gaffer says their target now is to win the next game.
‘Of course we have the targets to win, but we need to go a step at a time. We focus on the next match and if we win we are in the quarters. We get to the quarters we win and we are in the World Cup,’ said the tactician.
