[EXCLUSIVE] WAFU B U 17: Why I’m confident Golden Eaglets will defeat Burkina Faso in Ghana – Francis Achi

Ahead of Thursday’s cracker between the Nigeria U-17 men’s team, Golden Eaglets and old foes, Burkina Faso, the Media Officer of the Nigerian side, Francis Achi believes the Golden Eaglets have what it takes to beat Burkinabe when they clash for the 2024 WAFU B U17 tournament at the University Stadium, Accra, Ghana, Thursday.

NewsClick Nigeria reports that Burkina Faso prevented the Eaglets from reaching the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Indonesia last year.

Former Golden Eaglets Handler, Nduka Ugbade led the team at the last WAFU B tournament in 2022, when they defeated Burkina Faso 2-1 to win the title but the Burkinabe fought back at the 2023 U-17 Nations Cup in Algeria, beating Nigeria 2-1 in the quarter-finals to deny the five-time world champions a World Cup ticket.

Speaking to NewsClick Nigeria in an exclusive interview from Ghana, Wednesday, Achi said the spirit of the boys in the camp is high and they are determined to defend their title against Burkinabe.

The Golden Eaglets Spokesman seized the opportunity to call on Nigerians based in Ghana to storm the University Stadium, Accra, to cheer the boys to victory.

Achi also told NewsClick Nigeria that a Senior Secondary School 1, (SSS 1) student, Simon Cletus will Captain the Nigeria side during the championship.

The defending champions, Golden Eaglets will face Burkina Faso, Niger and Benin in Group B at the WAFU Championship that kicked off on Wednesday.

The two finalists in the competition will secure a berth at the Africa U-17 Cup of Nations.