New Telegraph

Don’t Puncture Winning Mentality, Attack Brazil With Your Best

E x-international Mobi Oparaku has warned the Flying Eagles coach, Ladan Bosso, against fielding a weak team against Brazil when the two teams meet in their last group game of the ongoing FIFA U-20 World Cup. The Nigerian team booked their place in the round of 16 after beating Italy 2-0 on Wednesday; they had earlier defeated the Dominican Republic 2-1 in their opener making their last group game against Brazil inconsequential.

Bosso had hinted at giving fringe players the opportunity in the final group game against the junior Samba boys on Saturday but Oparaku said that decision could be counterproductive. He said the team is on the ascendency in terms of the winning mentality and a scandalous loss to Brazil which walloped the Dominican Republic 6-0 in their second group game, could ruin the psychology of the Nigerian team ahead of the knockout stage.

“I learnt he said he was going to field a weaker team and I want to advise the coach not to do that. You are going to play against Brazil not some small teams and it will do these boys no good if they are beaten badly by their opponents,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if you need the match because the national pride is at stake.

These boys are no longer representing themselves, they are the face of 200 million Nigerians and they can’t afford to put us to shame. “You can see that the team is improving; I noticed some lapses in their first match against the Dominican Republic especially in the attack but they improved greatly against Italy.

I would have expected the coach to keep up the pace by ensuring that he fields his best team so that his side can keep improving.” On whether the team has what it takes to go all the way and win the tournament given what they have played in the last two matches, Oparaku who was part of Nigeria’s team that won the 1993 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Japan, said it is a tough call given the fact that a number of teams have shown incredible potential.

“We haven’t won this competition before but we have always done well and I think this team can do well but it is difficult to predict if this is the time we will win because of the level of competitiveness I have seen from our boys and the other teams. “Argentina is a traditional country that wins the tournament and they are even the hosts, Brazil can still qualify and can always pose a danger.

Truth be told, our boys are yet to light up the competition and that is what I feel if they beat Brazil, they will be making a strong statement.” Oparaku lamented the poor showing of Nigeria in age-grade competitions in recent years blaming the Nigeria Football Federation for the lack of investment in grassroots football.

“We abandoned that aspect of our football because the NFF now relies on getting players who were born abroad to play for the national team. We used to have the YSFON Cup, Principal’s Cup and the rest of the grassroots competitions where players were discovered and selected for age-grade international tournaments and we were excelling and were able to produce players for the senior team.

Sadly, we don’t do that again and to make the matters worse, we ensured that our league is destroyed too. How far have we gone in U-17, and U-20 tournaments in the last eight years? We did not even qualify for the next U-17 World Cup and we won’t be at the Olympics too. It is a shame.” he added.

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