Head coach of the Nigeria U17 team Nduka Ugbade is preparing his team for their Africa U17 Cup of Nations quarter final game against Burkina Faso on Thursday, OGN reports.
Nigeria defeated South Africa 3-2 to finish as second in their group on six points but it was a win that was far from smooth with Nigeria needing to come from behind twice before sealing the win.
The game left a special memory in the head of the Nigerian coach with the performance of some players of South Africa making him confess that he was scared of how they approached the game.
He mentioned three of them and it includes Nigerian teen Michael Dokunmu who was born to a Nigerian father and a South African mother in South Africa. He presently plays for Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem.
First reported by OGN, the forward who recently penned his first professional deal with the Dutch side has already found the back of the net twice in this tournament, and even though he didn’t get to score against Nigeria he left a lasting impression on the Nigerian coach alongside three of his teammates.
“It was a really tough match because South Africa is a really good team and they gave us a tough time. They have three players that are really good; Mabena (Siyabonga), Mkhawana (Vicky) and Dokunmu (Michael). They are very talented players and I was honestly scared of them at first,” Ugbade said after the match.
Mohammed Mowiz
