Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
Former Super Eagles midfielder Mutiu Adepoju has said that though he was not disappointed with the performance of the Golden Eaglets in the just concluded Tanzania CAF U-17 tournament, the team must improve in the attacking department ahead of the yet to be dated Brazil FIFA U-17 World Cup competition.
Speaking to Sporting Sun in Abuja, the former Super Eagles wing player, argued that the team played good football, created chances but failed to convert the chances, adding that the most important thing is that the team picked one of the four Africa slots.
Asked if he was disappointed with the Eaglets outing he said: “I was not actually disappointed because as kids, they have done their best. I was impressed with their first two games and the good thing is that they play good football, created chances but the only problem they had was that they found it difficult to convert those chances.
“It would have been good if they had played in the finals or even win the trophy, but we should celebrate them for picking one of the four slots for the international tournament. I am confident that they will correct the mistakes and lapses they noticed at the continental edition before the junior World Cup in Brazil,” he said.
On what the team should improve, he said: “What I feel they should correct before the World Cup is in the area of being clinical in their finishing. We have crop of boys that play with enthusiasm, create chances but what they need to correct is falling back to defend after an attack.
“Again, if the strikers start scoring the goals, the defenders will not be under pressure. These are the few areas I think the coaches should start working on before the World tournament. Essentially, the strikers should be clinical in attack,” he said.