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Nigeria under-17 head coach Nduka Ugbade has set his sights on guiding the team to November’s 2023 FIFA U17 World Cup finals.
The Golden Eagles are gearing up for their final training camp in Germany ahead of the 2023 U17 Africa Cup of Nations finals due in Algeria between 29 April – 19 May.
Ugbade, who captained Nigeria to the 1985 FIFA U16 World Championship triumph, is keen to ensure that the Golden Eagles perform well in Algeria and qualify for the World Cup finals.
“We continue to work hard as we look forward to the championship in Algeria,” Ugbade said on the Nigeria Football Federation’s official website.
“Our objective has not changed: we go hard for the World Cup ticket and then we aim for the trophy. First target is a ticket to the World Cup finals, and then we take things from there.
“I have confidence in the squad we have been able to build, even as we are still utilizing every minute, every hour to tinker with what we have and see how it can get better,” the retired defender continued.
“We have a tough act to follow in that Nigeria has won the World Cup five times in this category, and nothing we do will be seen as special.
“However, we know that if we can win the Africa Cup, it will be a stepping stone to joining the great squads that have won the World Cup for Nigeria.”
Ugbade, who was also part of Nigeria’s squad that qualified Nigeria for the FIFA World Cup for the first time in 1993, won the Africa Cup of Nations title in 1994 with the Super Eagles in Tunisia.
