Ugbade targets WC title
by Humphrey Njoku 06 December 2012, 07:18
Golden Eaglets' assistant coach, Nduka Ugbade has said his side have shifted attention towards qualifying Nigeria for next year's Fifa Under17 World Cup in United Arab Emirates.
The Eaglets at the weekend defeated the Junior Eagles of Mali 4-0 on aggregate to book passage to the African cadet showpiece billed for the North African state, Morocco from April 13 to 27.
Caf is billed to hold draws for the championship on December 9 in Morocco.
The eight teams for the draws are hosts Morocco, Nigeria, Ghana, Tunisia, Cote d'Ivoire, Botswana, Congo and Gabon.
Ugbade said they have decided to cut short the celebration trailing their qualification to pay undivided attention at doing well at the African championship in Morocco.
"Our emphasis right now is to work hard towards qualifying for the World Cup in the UAE, that means we must finish among the top four at the African championship coming up in Morocco in the second week of April.
"As much as we appreciate the encomium that greeted our qualification, we're playing down on the celebration to concentrate on the task ahead.
"We're not unmindful of the fact that the team still need some touch here and there, we have to move fast to cover the loopholes observed during the qualifiers to ensure we go to Morocco not only to qualify for the World Cup but to win the Africa title," the former Nigerian player said to supersport.com.
The former Eaglets' captain said his wards are not afraid of any foe as the date for the draws gets closer.
"We're ready to face any opponent. We're not losing sleep over the group we'll fall into. Our priority is to prepare very well for the championship.
"We want to be champions and should be ready to face any obstacle that may come our way.
"We have an existing unbeaten record to maintain. Caf should feel free to draw us against any country, we're battle ready," he enthused.
