Flying Eagles Coach Worries Over Team’s Defence

Flying Eagles coach Manu Garba has admitted that the defence remains his major worry going into the U20 World Cup, while at the same time saying his attack will be the most lethal in New Zealand.

“We still need to work on our defence. This is where we need to work on before the World Cup kicks off,” Manu admitted.

“The mental speed of the players (has to be better) – they do recover in good time, but they often fail to do the marking when it matters most, to close up on the opposition.

“But I believe before the World Cup, the defence will be a lot tighter because we will surely work on those areas. This is the major weakness of this team.”

However, the Flying Eagles have an embarrassment of talent to choose from in attack with the likes of Taiwo Awoniyi, Isaac Success, Kelechi Iheanacho on top form and scoring goals for Manu to say his strike force will be the deadliest at the World Cup

“The midfield is the main strength of this team, but with the inclusion of Isaac Success, Kelechi Iheanacho and Moses Simon, the attack will be very, very deadly. It will be difficult to get an attack that will be as deadly as that of Nigeria,” he warned.

The African champions are drawn against Brazil, North Korea and Hungary in the first round of the competition, which kicks off on May 30 in New Zealand.