…As Captain Believes Eaglets Can Go Far

Golden Eaglets captain, Fortune Chukwudi is convinced the team has the mental strength to go far at this year’s Under-17 World Cup. The Nigerian youngsters came from behind to beat co-tournament favourites Argentina 2-1 on Saturday and finish top of the group. They also clawed their way back from going three goals down against Germany to earn a 3-3 draw in their opening game of the campaign, and Chukwudi is in no doubt that both games showed the team’s mental capacity to flourish in the face of adversity. “The team is mentally very strong and this is the second time we have come back after giving away an early goal;’ he said. “We are not just a team, though. We are a big squad and we proved that during the match when our striker got injured and his substitute came on and scored. With spirit like that we can go far:’ Chukwudi made it clear that victory was the target coming into Bauchi. “We came here to win, not just to make sure of qualification. We were all over the place in our first match but we feel we’ve gotten better and better since then:’ The Eaglets would return to Abuja for their next match.