The Nigeria U17 MNT, Golden Eaglets, lost on two fronts, they got Knocked out of the U17 Africa Cup of Nations and also lost a spot in the FIFA U17 World Cup, after losing 2:1 to Burkina Faso in the quarter finals.

Just like Coach Nduka Ugbade had predicted, that game will be very interesting and highly watchable, we will be looking at three talking points from the encounter.

Hope

Although the Eaglets crashed out at this stage of the competition and facing the disappointment of not qualifying for the World Cup, it’s safe to say that the future of Nigerian football is in safe hands should these boys be nurtured properly.

This team knows how to play and even though they struggled to finish off their moves they did not at any point look inferior to any of their opponents.

Against Burkina Faso, the Eaglets should have been 2 goals up had the post not been so cruel, and the goals they conceded were two avoidable goals, they had no business conceding.

The Coach should do everything within his power to make sure that the boys are not disbanded and quality friendlies. They should get them as much exposure as possible.

Poor defending

One problem I had always highlighted about the Golden Eaglets team was that they tend to concede silly goals and against Burkina Faso, both goals were a gift.

For a team to be successful they need to have a compact defense and it was sad that against Burkina Faso the boys were not composed and aware defensively, which ultimately cost them the World Cup ticket.

No doubts at all about the ball-playing abilities of the lads, but eventually a defence’s number one priority is to defend and against Burkina Faso, the boys failed to do just that, now they will have to learn the hard way.

Big Decisions

Coach Nduka Ugbade has failed to deliver at least the World Cup ticket after assuring fans and the media that he had “the Baddest team”, and he was sure they would go all the way.

Unfortunately, since he had failed to meet his target there is a possibility that he would be asked to vacate the position.

I strongly believe the NFF should leave him in charge of this team and provide him with every support needed to ensure that the players fulfill their potentials.

Ugbade must also decide his next approach to training and how best he can help these kids grow and flourish before giving the green light for a move abroad.

Sacking or extending Coach Nduka Ugbade,’s contract will divide opinions, but whatever decision the NFF takes will be massive.