Ahead of Sunday’s opening match between Nigeria’s Flying Eagles and their U-20 counterpart from Dominican Republic in Group D of the FIFA World Cup, FCT FA chairman Alhaji Adam Mouktar Mohammed has charged the team to go all out and conquer opposition on their way towards winning the tournament.
Mohammed urged the team to put every foot right to overcome the whatever oppositions that might come their way starting with Dominican Republic on Sunday.
The Coach Ladan Isah Bosso led team will battle alongside five time champions Brazil, Italy and Dominican Republic in Group D of the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Nigeria have finished as runners-up on two occasions, in Saudi Arabia in 1989 and in Holland in 2005 and won bronze in the USSR in 1985.
However, in a chat with Blueprint Sport in Abuja Mouktar who contested for the office of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president opined that the Flying Eagles need to be at their best if they are to beat Brazil, Italy and Dominican Republic.
The Accounting and Economics graduate from Middlesex Universsity, United Kingdom, is the proprietor of FC Hearts, which has produced several players making their marks all over the globe.
“I have seen some of their games at the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations and I think the Flying Eagles must do better to make an appreciable impact at the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup. The team has no choice.
“The NFF expect the team to get to at least semi finals or quarter finals at worst. It’s not a tall order. That’s why they must be at their best, take their chances and play with all their heart.
“The federation has given the team all the needed support. It’s up to them to do their own,” Mouktar said.
Nigeria secured their place in the competition billed for May 20 to June 12 in Argentina after they finished third at the 2023 Under-20 African Cup of Nations in Egypt.