The Nigeria U-17 MNT are prepared to commence their title defence of the WAFU B U-17 Championship this Thursday in Ghana.

As the five-time world champions and current WAFU B U17 holders will kick start the campaign with an opening match against Burkina Faso.

On paper Group B which also houses Niger Republic and Togo has been described as the group of death,

Head to head, Nigeria and Burkina Faso have cancelled each other out in their last four meetings – winning twice each.

Burkina Faso also prevented Nigeria’s chances of reaching the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Indonesia last year.

“We are happy about the results. Having the whole squad to prosecute the tournament somewhat puts our minds at rest,” head coach Garba stated ahead Thursday’s match.

“Our primary objective is to secure one of the two tickets from here to the Africa U-17 Cup of Nations. We will focus on the matches one at a time. For now, we are focused on our opening game against Burkina Faso.”

Their second group game against Niger Republic is scheduled for Sunday, May 19 followed by their last group game against Togo on May 22.