THE Golden Eaglets' officials have said here that they are now ready for the upcoming international matches starting with today's friendly match against Rwanda at the U.J Esuene Sports Stadium in Calabar.After many weeks of preparation, playing and winning strings of matches, the wards under the helm of coach Garba Manu (MFR) would be facing their biggest test yet in this high profile game against the East Africans. Both teams are using the two- match series today and Sunday as tune up as the 2013 African Under-17 African Youth Championship gets underway.While the Golden Eaglets open their account with a First Round qualifier against Niger next week, the Junior Wasps are drawn-bye into the Second Round against either Malawi or Botswana-following their impressive performance at the last tournament where they nearly won the trophy in front of their home fans but for the 2-1 loss to Burkina Faso in the Final match."We are ready for the friendly match against Rwanda since it would put the players in serious condition as well as opportunity of having a closer look at the players ahead of our game against Niger next week," said Nduka Ugbade, the Golden Eaglets' assistant coach who incidentally captained Nigeria to win the maiden Under-16 FIFA World Cup in 1985.'These two matches against Rwanda are crucial because they offer us a clear-cut chance of looking and picking players for the trip to Niger."Team's Coordinator, Suleiman Abubakar, said the fight for positions in the team, meanwhile, has been intense with none of the players guaranteed a shirt."There is quality in this team and everyone is happy about the attitude of the players,' said the former player who played for Hoechst of Ota in his heyday."Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) should be commended for organising these matches which would allow Nigerians to see the Golden Eaglets in serious match situations ahead of our qualifier against Niger next week.'Meanwhile, Junior Wasps are already in Calabar for this two-match training tour of Nigeria.The delegation comprising 21 players and eight officials arrived Thursday aboard Arik Airlines via Lagos. Coach Richard Tardy is expected to unleash Coventry striker, Seif Murenzi as well as Orlans defender Pacifique Shema against the Golden Eaglets. Tardy reportedly said that Murenzi's pace and ability to hold onto the ball will be a great asset to the team!Meanwhile,COACHES Monday Odigie and Ladan Bosso who at one time or the other attached to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) have enjoined the Golden Eaglets to ensure qualifications for the 2013 African Under-17 Youth Championship to be hosted in Morocco.Nigeria have failed to qualify for the last two editions of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) cadet's competition which were hosted by Algeria and Rwanda respectively in 2009 and 2011.Odigie, the immediate past Golden Eaglets' coach, was quoted as saying that the present players must be wary of some underhand tactics that are prevalent in African football following the manner his wards were subdued the last time. Odigie was actually sent off in Brazzaville against Congo by the referee for complaining about a bogus penalty awarded against Nigeria and his technical input was sorely missed during the decisive reverse fixture in Kaduna.'I have been following the activities of the Golden Eaglets since you started the screening exercise early this year and I'm impressed about some of the things I have heard about the team,' Tayo Egbaiyelo, the Golden Eaglets' Team Secretary who incidentally acted in the same capacity last term, quoted Odigie as saying in a telephone conversation. 'It is good you are with the present team and you must alert the players as well as the technical crew about the pitfalls to be avoided particularly when you travel for your away matches.' Similarly, Bosso who guided the Flying Eagles to the quarter-finals of the 2007 FIFA Under-20 Youth Championships in Canada reportedly said that it is important for the Nigeria to be at the 2013 African Under-17 Championship after recent failures.'Good to hear about the positive things about the Golden Eaglets but the challenge for you guys is to qualify for the African Youth Championship first before talking about going to the World Cup,' advised the coach with the Nigerian Premier League side, Wikki Tourists. 'Every match should be handled with all seriousness and you can always count on my support and generality of Nigerians.
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