Nigeria U17 head coach Manu Garba is confident his side can still qualify for the knockout stage of the 2018 WAFU B U17 tournament despite their 3-2 defeat to Burkina Faso on Monday.
The Golden Eaglets are bidding to qualify for next year’s African U17 Cup of Nations but goals from Abdoul Komi, Jean Fiacre Kouame and Mubarak Compaore saw them crumble.
In the face of the loss, the gaffer insists his side were the better team and remains strong at heart about their chances of progressing to the last four of the competition against the Ivorians.
“I think that we were the better side and totally dominated possessions against Burkina Faso,” Garba told Goal.
“I believe that if they [Burkina Faso] were not falling down to waste time, the story would have been different. It was unfortunate we lost but we created a lot of chances but didn’t take them.
“This was just the first match and I believe we still have a chance to remain in the competition in our next game.
"We will go back to work on our mistakes and hope to come out strong against Cote d’Ivoire. A good win should take us to the semi-final.”
Nigeria will be aiming to keep their Afcon qualification hopes alive when they face Cote d’Ivoire in their last Group B match following the disqualification of Benin Republic.
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