The cadet national team, Golden Eaglets are set to resume camping on Sunday, as coach of the side, Manu Garba begins preparations for this year’s African U-17 Cup of Nations in Tanzania.
Footballlive.ng gathered that the Eaglets’ first phase of preparations for Tanzania 2019, from which they will hope to qualify for the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Peru, will commence with their participation at an invitational competition in Japan.
Garba and his technical crew assistants will now concentrate first on preparing the squad for the trip to the Land of The Rising Sun, to start their build-up for the U17 AFCON, which starts April 14 in Tanzania.
Garba’s team qualified for the continental championship as winners of the West Africa B zonal qualifiers in Niger Republic last year, and are in the same group with hosts Tanzania, Angola and Uganda.
The tournament in Tanzania will produce four teams to represent Africa at the U17 World Cup in Peru, where Garba will hope to be with the side.
Nigeria failed to qualify for the last editions of both the continental and global cadet fiestas, despite winning the World Cup back-to-back in 2013 and 2015.
Garba won the first of those two outings at UAE 2013, with a squad that included the like of Kelechi Iheanacho, Taiwo Awoniyi, Isaac Success, Sunday Dele Alampasu, Francis Odinaka Uzoho and Chidiebere Nwakali.
He could not step up with most of the same array of players at the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand, where his side fell in the second round, then also failed to shine last time out on his return to the Eaglets.
However, the former Wikki Tourist FC of Bauchi handler, who was in Nigeria’s under-20 squad to the Chile ’87 World Youth Championship (WYC), says he is heading for both personal and national redemption.
