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By Abiodun Adewale.
Golden Eaglets full-back, Yahaya Lawali, has credited his Man of The Match award during Nigeria’s first game of the 2023 U-17 AFCON against Zambia to his teammates.
Favour Daniel’s goal in the second half handed Nigeria a positive start to their campaign in Algeria, after seeing off Zambia 1-0 at the Mohamed Hamloui Stadium in Constantine on Sunday.
Despite a late penalty miss by Light Eke, the Golden Eaglets managed to see off the slim advantage to move top of Group B after their opening match.
Lawali was named man of the match after his splendid performance down the right wing for the Golden Eaglets and he was elated with the recognition, which he says will spur him to do better in the next match.
“I am really delighted and this means a lot to me. Being named Man of The Match in the first game for the team is a massive encouragement,” Lawal told CAF Online.
He added; “This is not my trophy though. It belongs to the team; the coaches, the staff and my teammates. We all worked hard for this.”
The Mahanaim FC defender says they had to put in a decent fight against Zambia, who he says were a tough team.
“It was a really tough game because Zambia are a good side. The little details gave us a win today. We scored when it mattered most and we defended well. It has given us motivation for the next game,” he noted.