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Defending Champions Golden Eaglets of Nigeria have arrived in Santiago, Chile for the FIFA U-17 World Cup finals, billed for October 17 to November 8.
The Nigeria Football Federation announced via a press release the youngsters’ arrival on Wednesday, revealing that they flew into Santiago from their pre-World Cup camp base in Buenos Aires at 8:20pm local time on Tuesday (which is early hours of Wednesday in Nigeria (12:20 am), aboard a Lan Airlines flight.
Speaking to the media on arrival, coach Emmanuel Amuneke and striker Victor Osimhen were upbeat about the chances of the Eaglets successfully defending the trophy.
“We are here to defend the trophy,” said Amuneke.”We are here with new players who want to write their own history and we are looking forward to our first game against the United States of America, which is very important for us.”
Osimhen echoed the sentiment of Amuneke, adding that they
have been psyched up for the expected challenges as the defending champions.
“We are here to win,” said Osimhen who is Golden Eaglets’ top scorer with 39 goals in 71 cumulative international and local matches.
“Just as the coach said, we are here to write our own story as a team and players.”
Immediately after dinner at their Double Tree by Hilton Hotel in Santiago-Vitacura, where they are accommodated for their opening match against USA on October 17, Amuneke reminded his wards to focus attention on nothing but football as the team seeks a fifth U-17 world title.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has applauded the Embassy of Nigeria in Argentina for rallying behind the Golden Eaglets during their pre-World Cup preparation in Buenos Aires.
Siji Lagunju, Assistant Director (Technical), on behalf of the Federation, said the Nigerian Embassy ably led by Mr. Tiwalade Adelanwa, the Deputy Head of Mission, contributed immensely to the Golden Eaglets’ successful stay in Buenos Aires.
