'We have not come this far to drop out' - Golden Eaglets coach focused on World Cup ticket 

Nigeria U17 boss Nduka Ugbade has revealed that the Golden Eaglets are focused on earning a World Cup ticket when they do battle with Burkina Faso in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Africa U17 Cup of Nations on Thursday.

Five-time world champions Nigeria advanced to the last eight by virtue of finishing second in Group B after edging South Africa in a five-goal thriller while Burkina Faso also came from behind to seal a 2-1 win over defending champions Cameroon.

There is much at stake in their next fixture, with the winner of the contest at the Nelson Mandela Stadium qualifying for the 2023 FIFA U17 World Cup.

Ugbade believes that the Golden Eaglets are now a better team after navigating the group stages, where they were only beaten once by Morocco. 

"We had an interesting match with South Africa and it has prepared us well for further challenges in the competition," Ugbade stressed.

"We learnt a lot playing Zambia, Morocco and South Africa – all strong teams – in the group phase and that was good furnace for us to be a better squad.

"The quarter-final matches will be very hard nuts to crack because that is the step that earns you the World Cup ticket. None of the four games will be easy.

"Our interest is Burkina Faso and we are working hard towards achieving success."

Ugbade is aware that there is no room for error in the knockout rounds as the Golden Eaglets aim to qualify for the World Cup for the thirteenth time. 

He added : "We have not come this far to drop out. My boys are focused hard on the World Cup ticket. After that, we can then focus on other objectives".

Players and officials of the Golden Eaglets arrived in Algiers, three days before the quarterfinal clash against the Young Etalons. 

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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