Sports
U-20 W/Cup: Iheanacho’s Success To start From Bench
Europe-based strikers Isaac Success, Kelechi Iheanacho and Moses Simon are most likely to start the U20 World Cup from the bench as coach Manu Garba plans to integrate them gradually into his team in New Zealand.
The Europe-based stars did not turn up at a training camp in Nurnberg, Germany, and would instead head directly to New Zealand for the tournament.
But coach Manu has maintained he does not plan to rush them into his first team from the start of the World Cup.
“We are not saying these players will come in automatically to the first team, they will be coming in gradually for them to find a synergy with the other players,” he revealed.
“They will not get into the team in the very first match, they will sit on the bench and observe and whenever we need them, they will come on to do the damage.”
He further argued that these players will have no problem blending with the rest of the team at the World Cup.
“I don’t have any fear (about blending) because these players have been with us,” he said.
“Even Moses Simon was with us in the early part of the U17 team before he went on to play for the U20 team. He may not know our philosophy, but for Kelechi and Success, they know how we play right from the U17s. Kelechi even played the qualifiers.
“All the same, it will not be difficult for Moses because he played in the same academy in Kaduna with Musa Yahaya and he is a striker who knows when and how to move. It will be easy for him to adapt.
“We have two, three training sessions together (in New Zealand) and they will again know how we play and what we want them to contribute to the team.”
He added: “They are all coming from competition and so you can’t fault their fitness level.
“And the language of the game is simple – If you have the ball, before you release it, you have to look up and see the movement of your player. If the other player has the ball, you have to move to a vital space to receive the ball.
“I believe getting that cohesion will not be very difficult because two of them, Kelechi and Success, have been with this team, while Moses will adapt very quickly.
“We will sit them down to show them what we expect them to do. I believe they will adapt because they are young players and very, very intelligent.”
The championship will run from today to October 12 at the International Conference Centre, Umuahia. On the ground for the championship are athletes from Brazil, Peru, Egypt, Cameroon, Tunisia, Nigeria, Mauritius and Rwanda. They arrived on Sunday.
Some of the other countries were expected in the Abia State capital yesterday. Speaking on the championship, yesterday, Abia State Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Nwobilor Ananaba, said the chief host, Governor Alex Otti, has mobilised facilities and the personnel to ensure a successful event.
Speaking through the Special Assistant to the Governor on Sports, Raymond Chima Ukwa, said: “We have the best mats, playing mats, especially the wheelchair playing mats, which is the first of its kind in West Africa.
“If you go around, you’ll see the hall and the preparation that has been made to ensure that people have an equitable world-class playing field.” Thrilled by Governor Otti’s support for the competition, Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN) President, Francis Orbih, said that, besides making all the necessary arrangements that will ensure a successful hosting of the events, “we will have a Para-Badminton workshop for coaches and players.
“Nigeria is doing well, Abia is doing well, and we want to do better to improve on where we are, which is why all these have been put together by Governor Otti.”
Nigeria’s Flying Eagles began their campaign at the 24th FIFA U20 World Cup with a narrow 1–0 loss to Norway on Monday, despite creating several opportunities to level the game.
Norway took the lead in the 9th minute after being awarded a controversial penalty. The Flying Eagles pressed for an equaliser but were denied two penalty claims in the second half.
Kparobo Arierhi came close in the 47th minute when his shot drifted wide with the goalkeeper beaten, while Tahir Maigana struck the upright in the 63rd minute.
Nasiru Salihu’s rising effort in the 71st minute also went narrowly over the bar, drawing gasps from the crowd.
Seven minutes from time, Maigana again tested Norway with a long-range strike that went just wide as Nigeria continued to pile on the pressure.
Despite their dominance, the Flying Eagles could not find the breakthrough and now turn their attention to Thursday’s clash against Saudi Arabia in their second group match.
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