CAF President Issa Hayatou watched the Golden Eaglets live for the first time at the Fifa Under-17 World Cup in their 2-0 win over Uruguay and came out overwhelmed by their performance.
“Your boys are excellent,” he said at the final whistle. “They are lifting the African flag very high.”
Also watching was Fifa Executive Committee member, Jacques Anouma, who had just seen his Ivorian boys sent packing by Argentina, and he was also quick to congratulate all Nigerian dignitaries in the VVIP box and wished the Eaglets well going forward.
Chairman of the NFF Technical Committee, Chris Green, Director of Technical, Emmanuel Ikpeme, Director of Competitions, Mohammed Sanusi, Assistant Director (Media), Ademola Olajire, Head of International Competitions, Bola Oyeyode and a handful of State FA chairmen and secretaries were also present.
Former Super Eagles’ captain Sunday Oliseh, beamed in delight as did Victor Ikpeba, a member of the NFF Technical Committee who played at the 1989 tournament, before his glorious exploits with the Super Eagles.
Eighty minutes before kick-off, the Eaglets knew they were the only African side left in the tournament, following Cote d’Ivoire’s elimination by Argentina, at the same Sharjah FC Stadium. It was added responsibility that they carried with grace and sense of duty.
It would be difficult for the team to do less, looking at the technical bench. Head Coach Manu Garba (MFR), himself a former junior international, was assistant to Coach Yemi Tella when the Eaglets triumphed at the Fifa U-17 World Cup in Korea Republic.
Assistant Coach Emmanuel Amuneke won a medal as an Under-23 player at the All-Africa Games in Cairo in 1991, before his better reported exploits with the senior team, and with the Olympic gold-winning Dream Team at the 1996 Games in Atlanta.
Assistant Coach Nduka Ugbade was captain of the Nigerian team that swept all to win the inaugural event of this championship, in China in 1985. And goalkeeper’s trainer Emeka Amadi won silver medal at the Fifa U-20 World Cup in Saudi Arabia in 1989.
Sweden stretched the Eaglets remarkably in the group phase before both teams shared the spoils in a six-goal thriller. But the indices are different for Tuesday.
Sports Minister, Alhaji Bolaji Abdullahi, is expected in Dubai on Monday morning with a message of encouragement for the team from President Goodluck Jonathan, GCFR. Several other top functionaries, captains of industry and dignitaries are also expected to storm the Gulf State.
Nigeria has never lost a Fifa U-17 World Cup semi-final, and boasts a great record against European sides since the tournament was launched 28 years ago.
In all her 10 participations, Nigeria has only failed to reach the knock-out stage only once before, and that was even through the boardroom – Austin Eguavoen’s Class of 2003 wickedly eliminated by the toss of coin after ending up on same number of points, goals for, goals against and head-to-head with Costa Rica in Finland.
In 1989, the Eaglets were eliminated after penalty shoot-out in the quarter final stage in Dundee by eventual winners Saudi Arabia. And in 1995, Oman, which finished in fourth place and produced the Player of the Tournament, prevailed 2-1 over Nigeria in the last eight in Portojievo.
Three wins and three silver medals are the haul from the other six championships.
Those heavy on superstition remember that Nigeria have won all three previous titles on Asian soil (as is UAE), and that on the way to winning in Korea Republic six years ago, the Eaglets beat a South American nation (Argentina) 2-0 in the quarter finals, as they have done here against Uruguay, another South American country.
Brazil, the only other country to have won the tournament three times, has already been eliminated, sent home after a marathon penalty shoot-out against Mexico.
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