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Johnny Edward
Nigeria coach Ladan Bosso says he is confident of his team’s abilities despite going down to Senegal in their opening match of the TotalEnergies U-20 Africa Cup of Nations in Cairo on Sunday night.
Sulaymane Faye scored five minutes before half-time to secure all three points for coach Malick Daf’s Cubs in the Egyptian capital in their Group A clash with the Flying Eagles.
The seven-time champions had to play the closing stages with a man down following Ahmed Abdullahi’s sending off for a dangerous challenge.
Despite the setback, the Nigerian trainer insists they will recover to excel in the tournament being played in Egypt.
“We take advantage of tournaments like this in order to develop our level and work to fix our mistakes. In the end, I trust the team and their ability to qualify for the next round, and that we will achieve our biggest goal, which is to reach the World Cup,’ said Bosso.
Bossu and his charges will be seeking to make up for Sunday’s loss in order to maintain chances of reaching the quarter-final.
The WAFU-A champions will battle against the hosts who were held to a goalless draw by Mozambique.
“The next match is very difficult, especially since it will be against Egypt, the host country,” Bossu told reporters.
“Egypt’s draw against Mozambique will make it more difficult because their desire to win will multiply.”