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Coach of Nigeria’s U15 national team Future Eagles Haruna Ilerika has stated that the next set of Nigeria U17 national team will be better if there is continuity on the large chunk of players in the national U15 team who were opportune to go on foreign training tour with the U16 invitational that went down middle of this year in Japan and other competition.
Ilerika commended the talent of the current U17 team on individual level and believes building on the current set of U15 team will help produce a stronger and better U17 national team for whoever will be in charge for the kind of exposure enjoyed already by the current U15 team and the time spent together as a team.
“We have lost out, we lost out to the Dutch team and for me it’s a lesson for the future. It is always good to note that the U15 team serves as developmental team to the U17 because by the time we are going to play the U17, most of these U15 team that have traveled this year to Japan would have been matured enough go play U17 in the next two years.
So whoever will handle the next U17 will find it easier harnessing the boys together because the boys have been together for a year or two.”
