Heartland goalkeepers’ trainer, Emeka Amadi, has urged Nigeria’s Flying Eagles to believe in themselves when they face Saudi Arabia in the early hours of Friday (Nigerian time) at the ongoing FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Amadi, who was Nigeria’s first-choice goalkeeper at the Saudi ’89 U-20 World Cup where the Flying Eagles reached the final before losing 2-0 to Portugal, told NationSport exclusively that the current team must not dwell on their opening-day defeat to Norway.
Reflecting on the loss, Amadi noted: “It was just hard luck against Norway. No matter how good you are, if you are not lucky, you will not make it. Norway scored through a penalty but ours was not approved by the VAR. We hit the bar twice and also missed some scoring chances.
“I believe they will come all out in the next game against Saudi Arabia because they know what is at stake and that Nigerians would be glad to see them qualify from the group. I would like to admonish the Flying Eagles to play total football and, above all, they must believe in themselves. They should not underrate their opponents.”
Also speaking, Heartland Assistant Coach, Taiwo Enegwea, who was part of Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets squad that lost to the Soviet Union in the final of Canada ’87 and later featured at Saudi ’89 with Amadi, called on the Flying Eagles to show resilience in their remaining group games.
Enegwea stressed that the defeat to Norway should serve as a wake-up call: “They must strive to win their next two games to qualify. If I recall vividly, Argentina, who won the last FIFA World Cup in Qatar, lost their opening game to Saudi Arabia. So, their loss to Norway should not be a yardstick to feel they won’t make it to the next round. The defeat is just an eye opener for them to know they must work harder in the next game.
They actually played very well but lost scoring chances. The coach should work on their area of deficiencies in the last game.”
Enegwea, recalling his own international experience, emphasized the competitive spirit that shaped his generation:
“I had a very good experience playing for Nigeria because we had a lot of competition during our era. Merit was the order of the day in team selection. From Canada ’87 to Saudi ’89, we played with determination, and that is the same mentality the current Flying Eagles must embrace.”
The Flying Eagles will face Saudi Arabia in the wee hours of Friday in the second game of the group stage hoping to secure their first win of the competition and boost their qualification chances.
