• Golden Eaglets will not participate at next year’s U-17 AFCON

• Manu Garba won the U-17 World Cup in 2013

• Nigeria beat Ghana 3-2 in the third-place match at the WAFU B Championships

Former Golden Eaglets head coach Fatai Amoo has commended current coach Manu Garba for his performance at the 2024 WAFU B Nations Cup in Ghana, following Nigeria’s dramatic 3-2 victory over Ghana that secured a bronze medal.

Amoo emphasized that Garba’s experience and expertise were pivotal in guiding the team to the semi-finals and ultimately to a podium finish.

“I know people don’t want to hear anything other than we won, but look at our preparation.”

 

He highlighted the importance of early preparation for future tournaments, noting that the team’s success was despite limited preparation time.

“Sincerely speaking, Coach Manu Garba and his crew have not done badly,” Amoo said. “I know people don’t want to hear anything other than we won, but look at our preparation.”

“If the man is not experienced, has not gotten the exposure, probably maybe he will not have even gotten to the semi-final. I’m not saying he has met the target by way of playing in the finals that’d have given us the qualification.”

The former Eaglets coach urged the NFF to prioritize timely preparations for tournaments.

“So I just think we should do the needful and the rightful. The needful and the rightful is to start on time.

“If we qualify by the extension or by the number of teams, we should take the advantage and start preparation, not waiting every time until when the competition is about one, two, three weeks to go.”