TheCable

Flying Eagles coach, Manu Garba, expects nothing but the trophy from his players after getting to the final of the U-20 African Youth Championship in Senegal. 

The junior national team beat arch-rivals Ghana 2-0 in the first semi-final on Wednesday. And as they await the winner between host Senegal and Mali in Sunday’s final, Garba has already set his eyes on the ultimate prize.

“Our objective is to be champions and whether it’s Mali or Senegal, we are ready for them,” he said.

On the victory over fellow West African side, Ghana, Garba said they could have won by a wider margin had the team taken all their chances in the match.

“It was a keenly contested game. My boys did not take off early,” he said.

“The best team won. We created a lot of chances and could have scored more than two.”

Taiwo Awoniyi, the team’s striker, is also looking forward to winning Nigeria’s seventh AYC title.

“After reaching the final, we will put in our best to win it,” he said.

“We knew when we qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup; it will be easier to win the tournament. We came here to qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup and the second objective is to win the trophy. We are ready to make our fans home proud.”