Nigeria U-17 Vs Burkina Faso U-17: Match preview of 2023 U-17 AFCON quater-final clash
Nigeria and Burkina Faso face-off in a 2023 U-17 AFCON quater-final clash. SPORTSRATION presents a preview of this match.
MATCH DETAILS
Type of Competition: 2023 TotalEnergies Africa U-17 Cup of Nations
Fixture: Nigeria U-17 Vs Burkina Faso U-17
Round: Quater-final
Date: Thursday May 11, 2023
Venue: Nelson Mandela Stadium, Algiers
Time: 8pm
MOST RECENT MEETING
Nigeria and Burkina Faso have met on three occasions at U-17 level. The Golden Eaglets have emerged victorious in two matches while Burkinabe have one win.
In their last meeting, the Coach Nduka Ugbade tutored Golden Eaglets defeated Burkina Faso 2-1 in the final match of the 2022 WAFU B U-17 Championship.
ABOUT THE MATCH
A place in the semi-final plus ticket to the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup is prize for this match between Nigeria and Burkina Faso.
Both teams finished as runners-up in their respective groups at the Algeria 2023 U-17 AFCON.
The winner will face Senegal who trashed South Africa in the first quater-final on Wednesday May 10 for a place in the final match.
Nigeria will start as favourites, the two-time champions are one of the most successful teams at this level and so will dread thoughts of missing a ticket to the 2023 U-17 World Cup.
WHAT HAS BEEN SAID
Coach Nduka Ugbade of Nigeria
“This match will be important for us as it will qualify us for the World Cup. Burkina Faso has a really good team and we have played against them before and we experienced a very difficult match. We expect it to be the same in the quarter final,”
“My message before the match to the players is that these competitions are usually intense, and I told them we must have the will and play the match as it should, and stressed that winning makes us qualify for the World Cup.”
Coach Brahima Troare of Burkina Faso
“We go into the match with calmness but the enthusiasm to do well and achieve qualification to the World Cup. But, I have insisted with the players that we have to play together as a team and not individually. We want to achieve collectively as a team,”
“Both teams have changed and most of the players who played then are not in the team. It will be a different match and definitely tougher.”
SPORTSRATION SAYS
The first set of quater-final matches were direct with no surprises as favourites Senegal and Morocco spanked South Africa and Algeria respectively. Expect tougher games on May 11.
As tricky as the Burkinabe`s may be, expect the Golden Eaglets to win.
