Amuneke Plays Down Golden Eaglets Chances Vs Joeys

Golden Eaglets coach, Emmanuel Amuneke, says his team must be at the top of their game if they are to progress to the quarter - finals of the Fifa Under 17 World Cup.

The Nigeria U17s title credentials suffered a knock after they were outplayed by Croatia in their final Group A fixture on Saturday morning, and the former Barcelona winger has refused to write off the chances of Australia, stating that the Joeys must be respected.

“We have been looking forward to the team we are going to play and today (Sunday), we realized it would be Australia.  At this stage, everybody that has qualified must be respected,” said Amuneke.

“They (Australia) are a very good side because we saw their match against Argentina; they are a very good side and we  have to respect them.

“We have to keep working hard and prepare our players physically and psychologically for the match (against Australia) especially after losing our last group match to Croatia.”

The Golden Eaglets began their campaign at the World Cup with a 2 - 0 win against United States before thrashing Chile 5 - 1.

Photo Credit : fifa.com