Head coach of Nigeria’s Under-20 team Manu Garba has stressed that the Flying Eagles are going to Senegal with the intention of winning the title at the 2015 Africa Under-20 championship.
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The Flying Eagles will kick off their campaign on March 8 against hosts Senegal in the opening game of Group A at the Stade Léopold Sédar Senghor.
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Manu has now thrown down the gauntlet as the Flying Eagles begin their assault for glory in a potentially tricky preliminary group that also includes Congo and the Ivory Coast.
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“We are going there (Senegal) to win the trophy, all we ask for is for the prayers and support of all Nigerians. We have prepared very well for the tournament and we will go there to do the country proud,” Manu told supersport.com on Tuesday.
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The Flying Eagles will depart for Dakar on Wednesday. The contingent will fly out of Abuja via Lagos and Banjul, Gambia, to Dakar.
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Meanwhile, the assistant coach of the Flying Eagles, Nduka Ugbade, has revealed that the absence of stellar names like Kelechi Iheanacho, Musa Yahaya and Success Isaac will not detrimentally affect the chances of the team in Senegal.
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“Kelechi is just recovering from an injury and Isaac is helping his Spanish club (Granada) fight to avoid relegation from the top flight.
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“These are good players but we will not miss them. The strength of this squad is that we have no star names. It is more about the compact nature of the squad.
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“The real stars of this team are coach Manu Garba, myself and the other members of the backroom staff. We do not rely on any individual but on the collective,” he said.
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After facing Senegal on Sunday, the Flying Eagles will take on Congo in their second group game on March 11 before rounding off their preliminary campaign against the Ivory Coast three days later.
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Qualification for the semifinals of the competition will see the Flying Eagles book a ticket for the 2015 Fifa Under-20 World Cup.
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The World Cup in New Zealand will run from May 30 to June 20.
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Nigeria have never been crowned world champions at Under-20 level.
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