The Ambassador of Nigeria to Sudan, His Excellency Musa Mamman on Thursday evening praised players and officials of the U23 National Team, Olympic Eagles, for an impressive outing against their Sudanese counterparts in a 2019 U23 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match in Omdurman.
Speaking when he visited the players, Ambassador Mamman lifted the spirit of the players with kind words, saying that even though they lost the encounter by a lone goal, they fought hard and were certainly not disgraced.
“I am here to convey to you the goodwill message of His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari (GCFR). Even though we lost, we played a very good game and I have confidence in our ability to overturn the deficit and win by a clear margin in the return leg next week.
“You have the ability and the capacity to qualify for the championship. I urge you to be firm and resolute as you look forward to the second leg because about 200 million Nigerians are behind you in this campaign.”
A goal at the end of the first half by Walla Edin Musa condemned the Cup holders to defeat at the Al Merriekh Stadium on Thursday night, but the Nigerians fought hard and created several chances of their own in the encounter.
Meanwhile, the delegation of Nigeria’s U23 squad that lost 0-1 to Sudan in Omdurman on Thursday has returned to Nigeria, ahead of Tuesday’s second leg attrition at the Stephen Keshi Stadium. The contingent flew into Abuja on Friday afternoon and will train in the Federal Capital Territory for two days before heading to Asaba.
