Nigeria Under-17 Coach John Obuh: We Aim To Keep The World Cup

Nigeria under-17 coach, John Obuh, has become even more bullish about his team's chances of retaining the FIFA Under-17 World Cup after the country booked their ticket to the knock-out stage of the tournament on Friday.

Besides being the host nation, Nigeria are also defending the trophy they have won a record three times with the last triumph being two years ago in Korea.

On Friday in the northern Nigerian town of Bauchi, the Golden Eaglets fought back from a goal down to beat Argentina 2-1 and finish top of Group A with seven points from three matches.

Obuh's team responded almost immediately after Esteban Orfano scored for Argentina in the second minute with a fifth minute equaliser from Omoh Ojabu, before Sani Emmanuel converted a spot kick in the 72nd minute to seal a Nigerian victory.

“I am particularly happy with the performance of my players against a tough and quality side like Argentina. I am also elated with the way my boys responded after Argentina’s first goal. That shows character and seriousness on our part," Obuh said at a post-match briefing.

“I believe this team will continue to improve from game to game. The victory against Argentina is good for the confidence of my boys and this would definitely place them in good stead to confront any other opponents we might face on our way to lifting the Cup.

He added: “Like I said before the tournament, our goal is to retain the Cup won by our predecessors in 2007. Now that we have overcome our earlier scare in the tournament, I think the boys are in good frame of mind to achieve this objective.”

A disappointed Argentina coach, Jose Brown, blamed his team's defeat on the eight changes he made in the match.

Brown lined upeight players who had not played in the previous matches and he confessed that he had learnt his lessons after this game and would correct these lapses in subsequent matches.

“I believe the changes I made, which is eight players, might have affected the performance of my team. But I am confident that the boys would bounce back in the subsequent matches. They have rested well for now and I am sure that by the time we play our next game they would go full blast and make our people happy at home.

“I thought I should give other people the chance to play in the tournament that was the reason for making these changes. But I have learnt my lessons now and the mistakes would be corrected in the subsequent games,” Brown promised.

He praised his opponents, predicting they will go far in the tournament.

“Nigerian team is a very difficult side to play. The boys are very good and have a good chance of going far in the tournament," said Brown.

Samm Audu, Goal.com