Flying Eagles midfielder, Ayotomiwa Dele-Bashiru, believes the team can go far in the competition following their scintillating 4-0 win against Qatar in their first Group D match on Friday at the Tychy Stadium, reports Tidesports source.
The West Africans won their first opening day fixture in the competition for the first time since 2011 with a dominant display against their opponents.
The two-time finalists were all over the Asians right from the blast of the whistle and got the opener through Enyimba winger Maxwell Effiom, who was beautifully set up by his club mate and captain of the side , Ikouwem Utin.
Utin was the creator again few minutes later, this time around providing a perfect cross for Henry Offia to score the second goal.
The Flying Eagles scored two more goals in the second half through Dele-Bashiru and centre-back Aliu Salawudeen.
The Manchester City starlet, who expressed his happiness on scoring on his first competitive game for Nigeria, believes the team have what it takes to win the competition for the first time.
“I scored my first goal for Nigeria in my very first game for the team. I’m over the moon. We gave it our all today (Friday). We’re a strong side and have got a lot of technically gifted players. I think we can go a long way at this tournament,” Dele-Bashiru, who previously represented England at the U-16 level, told Tidesports sources after the game.
Paul Aigbogun’s charges will face the United States of America in their next game today at the Bielsko Biala Stadium. Kick off is 7:30 pm Nigerian time.