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With both teams still able to qualify for the semifinal of the ongoing
Africa Youth Championship (AYC), they will also be able to secure one of the
four berths to the FIFA U-20 World Cup billed for Colombia later this year. But
first, Nigeria’s Flying Eagles and the Young Scorpions of Gambia go head on
today, in one of the final fixtures in Group B; with defeat not an option for
both teams.

The match billed for the MilPark Stadium in Johannesburg, is to kick off by
11am Nigerian time; same time the Young Lions of Cameroun will be taking on the
Black Satellites of Ghana at the Dobsonville Stadium .

While the Flying Eagles were impressive in their first game with the Black
Satellites of Ghana defeating the world champions 2-1, the team put up a
lacklustre display in their 0-1 loss to Cameroun in their last game on
Thursday.

The team’s coach John Obuh, who did not hide his disappointment at his boys’
performance against the Young Lions, is however optimistic that the Nigerian
team will bounce back to winning ways today.

“Everyone felt bad about the loss to Cameroun, but we have put that behind
us and we’re all working hard towards achieving victory in Sunday’s match,”
Obuh said.

The Sharks of Port Harcourt coach hinted that he would be making some
changes to the starting line-up that played against Cameroun last time out.
Already the duo of Ramon Azeez and Olarenwaju Kayode are been tipped for a
starting role.

“Everything would be done to see that we win the match. My assistants and I
are working on the players. They were downcast after the loss to Cameroun but
we have been able to get them to pick up their morale from the floor and focus
on the task at hand.

“They cannot go on crying over that loss for a long time because there is a
bigger challenge in front of us. We need a win to get to the semifinals and
earn a berth at the World Cup.

“Personally, I want to take charge of a team at a second FIFA World Cup
finals and I would be very happy if we can qualify for Colombia”, said Obuh,
who led the U-17 team to a silver medal at the FIFA U-17 World Cup that Nigeria
hosted in 2009.

On their part, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) through its acting
secretary general, Musa Ahmadu, has said the Flying Eagles have no excuse not
to make Nigeria proud at the AYC.

According to him, the NFF has availed the team of all that is necessary to
aid their success at the championships so they won’t be happy to see the
confidence reposed in the team betrayed.

“The team has been given all the support they needed to succeed. So, they
have no reason not to perform. They were on a training tour of Libya, played
friendly matches before moving to Turkey and while in Turkey, they played
friendly matches with tough opposition like Egypt, before coming back to the
country” he said .

Still not resting on all these incentives, the NFF has decided to motivate
the Flying Eagles the more, with a 100% increase in their winning bonus.

NFF president, Aminu Maigari, approved that the players should be paid the
sum of $2,000 each if they are able to fly above the Gambians today – a feat
that would automatically earn them a semifinal ticket here and a berth at the
FIFA U-20 World Cup finals in Colombia later this year.

“The players will get the sum of $2,000 each for a win, which is a 100 per
cent increase on their regular bonus. We believe this should motivate them
maximally to go for the three points”, said Maigari.

The Gambians

The Gambia’s Young Scorpions have a mix of players from the Gambian league
and a sprinkling of foreign-based players who ply their trade in a variety of
countries from Iceland to Spain to the USA. The team suffered a narrow 1-0 loss
to Cameroun in their first match and were held 1-1 in their last game with
Ghana, a result the Gambian coach Lamin Sarr, blamed on the sending off of one
of his players.

Lamin was quick to note that his team is looking forward to a stern contest
against the Flying Eagles but also promised to throw everything at the game to
get a priceless victory

Ghana need Nigeria to lose

In the other match, where Ghana will be up against Cameroun, Ghana U-20
coach Orlando Wellington, is refusing to give up on his team’s chances of
booking a World Cup slot despite going winless in two matches at the African
championships. The defending champions are on the brink of an early exit after
being held to a 1-1 draw by Gambia on Thursday afternoon.

But Wellington is hanging on to his side’s slim hopes of survival.

“We are disappointed by the results. I told you coming into this game that
Gambia will not be a push over. With ten men they succeeded in having a draw
against us. However we still have a chance to qualify,” Wellington told
cafonline.com.

“All is not yet lost. We still have a game at hand and there is still a
chance to qualify for the World Cup.” The Berekum Chelsea coach must be at his
best to edge group leaders Cameroun and hope the other match goes their way to
progress. “Cameroun is not an easy team but we will work hard to beat them so
as to qualify for the semis”.

The Black Satellites are currently languishing at the foot of the Group B
table with one point from two rounds of matches.

As to be expected, the Cameroun coach has revealed that he will be fielding
a second-string side as his team is not under any form of pressure. “Since we
have qualified, I will change the team to give a chance to other players and
also to rest some of the players. The pressure is now off our backs” he said.