Flying Eagles coach Ladan Bosso says the third-place match of the TotalEnergies U-20 Africa Cup of Nations is as good as the finals.
Bosso has set his sights on clinching the bronze medal of the TotalEnergies U-20 Africa Cup of Nations Egypt 2023.
“The third place is as good as the final. We believe if we get it right, we will take something home. I believe we can put smiles on the faces of football-loving Nigerians,” Bosso said.
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The Flying Eagles will face Tunisia in the third-place match on Friday at the Cairo International Stadium at 3 pm.
Nigeria lost 1-0 in the semi-finals to The Gambia at the Cairo International Stadium on Monday night.
Steve Biko forward Bojang scored the lone goal to send the Young Scorpions to their first-ever TotalEnergies U-20 AFCON final.
“It was unfortunate we lost the semi-finals and now we will play the third-place match,” Bosso said.
“Nevertheless, it is always believed that second best is not good enough but we have to fight for third place.”
Nigeria has secured qualification to the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Indonesia later this year alongside Gambia, Senegal and Tunisia.
Target achieved
“The important thing is the target given to us to first qualify for the World Cup which we achieved.
“We wanted to get something additional but fortunately we didn’t get it right.
“Yes we had our mistakes but I understand the feelings as some Nigerians will not be comfortable with it.
“We lost to The Gambia not that they were better than us because we should have sealed that game in the beginning.
“Nevertheless, the way we prepared for the Gambian team is the same way we will prepare for Tunisia with some adjustments to get the win,” he added.
