Nigeria U-20 head coach, Paul Aigbogun admitted that his team cannot afford to lose all to South Africa when both clash in the second Group A game of the on going 2019 U-20 African Cup of Nations in Niger Republic.
The Flying Eagles started the tournament with a win over Burundi on Saturday and will qualify for the semi-final stage of the competition with another victory over the South Africans who onlymanaged just a draw with hosts Niger.
”We are entering a second game that will be different from the first which we won,”Aigbogun said at the pre-match conference in Niamey on Monday.
“I can’t say that our team will play in the same style as against Burundi but we know one thing; we are here to qualify for the World Cup.”
Meanwhile, the Amajita of South Africa Coach Thabo Senong said his side are ready to battle the Flying Eagles for the maximum points available and believes he has players that can secure the needed victory on Tuesday.
“We have look at Nigeria and analyse how they play. We still have good players in our squad who are yet to feature in our upcoming matches and I believe the team will be ready when we face Nigeria.”
In the other Group game , Niger will battle it out with Burundi to keep their hope of reaching the last four alive.