2nd July, 2014
The national Under-17 team, Golden Eaglets would depart Abuja for Cairo on Wednesday for a two-tie international friendly match against their Egyptian counterparts.
A squad of 25 players and nine officials breezed into Abuja from their base in Calabar on Tuesday en route to Cairo. Also expected on the trip is Coach Siji Lagunju, the chief technical officer at the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
The tune up friendly was at the instance of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and Egyptian Football Association (EFA) ahead of their team’s African U-17 Championship qualifiers.
While the Golden Eaglets were drawn by into the second round of the CAN Under-17 qualifiers for Niger 2015, the Junior Pharaohs dispatched Sudan 7-3 on aggregate in the first round and would play Democratic Republic of Congo and Congo respectively later this month.
Last May, the Eaglets defeated Egypt 3-2 and 3-1 in Kaduna with the return leg slated for Cairo on 4 July and 6 July.
Egypt’s coach Gamiel Mohammed Ali vowed to pay back Nigeria in their own coins by defeating the Golden Eaglets in Cairo.
“We are expecting a more difficult game in Cairo,” stated Prince Udofia, Golden Eaglets’ Coordinator.
“Of course, the Egyptians would want to avenge their last defeats against us but our team have really improved over time.
“It is going to be competitive and I think it would be good
preparatory matches for our qualifiers against Congo,” he added.