Coach Emmanuel Amuneke has warned his wards to expect a dogfight against Chile in their second match at the ongoing FIFA U-17 World Cup Chile 2015 at the Sausalito Stadium in Vina del Mar on Tuesday.

The Golden Eaglets on Monday morning trained at the Enap Oil Company Training Centre in Con-Con district of the beautiful city where all the 21 players were involved to perfect strategy for the match.

“Tomorrow’s match against Chile is a crucial game and you must expect a dog fight,” hinted Amuneke. “But we must approach the match with discipline and responsibility; we must be ready to fight for 90
minutes.”

World football ruling body, FIFA has named officials for the match with Ruddy Buquet as the centre referee. The 38-year-old Frenchman has been a full international for FIFA since 2011. Others listed for the match that would be watched by a capacity crowd also include  Buquet’s compatriots  Guillaume Debart and Gringore Cyril  as assistant referees while the fourth official is Abdulrahman Al-Jassim of Qatar.

Meanwhile, Golden Eaglets will yet again don white jerseys against Chile as they did in Saturday’s 2-0 win against the USA. The only slight change in the team’s dressing on Tuesday would be that of the goalkeepers who will swap their yellow gear for black top, short and socks. In the same vein, host Chile would swap their white jerseys for their famous red and blue colours while their goalkeepers will dorn yellow attire.

The Group A matches at Estadio Sausalito in Vina Del Mar on Tuesday would start  at 5:00pm local time(9:00pm in Nigeria) between USA and Croatia while Nigeria’s Eaglets face Chile at 8:00pm local time(12:00 midnight in Nigeria).

Meanwhile, Golden Eaglets’ striker, Victor Osimhen will be available for selection against Chile  on Tuesday after recovering fully from the knock which earned American Auston Trusty a red card in Saturday’s 2-0 victory at Estadio Nacional Julio Martinez Pradanos in Santiago. The 1.85m striker  has been involved in training sessions since the team arrived Vina del Mar on Sunday and is expected to lead the Golden Eaglets’ charge for goals against Chile.

Meanwhile,  Osimhen has  revealed why he went on all fours before Coach Emmanuel Amuneke after he grabbed  Nigeria’s second goal  in the 2-0 win against the USA. “I prostrated before Coach Amuneke  because of what he actually told me before we left the dressing room for the pitch against USA; because that was the first time he said such thing to me,” said the energetic striker who scored four of the Golden Eaglets’ seven goals at the African U-17 Nations Cup in Niger Republic last February.
“Coach told me: ‘Victor, I trust you and I know you will score’ and that really touched me. So, after I scored, I did that to appreciate him for all what he has done to make me a better player.”

Osimhen has been a sensation for the Golden Eaglets after opening his goal scoring account with a brace against Ibadan –based side, SRDH Football Club on June 8, 2014; and has maintained a remarkable
consistency leading to his 42nd in all competitions against the USA at the FIFA U-17 World Chile 2015.

Author: NFF Admin