Flying Eagles have qualities to replace Super Eagles -Chukwu

Former Super Eagles, Christian Chukwu on Tuesday said that the current squad of Flying Eagles possessed the right qualities to replace the Super Eagles in the future.

Chukwu, who made the assertion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, described the performance of the Flying Eagles as “exceptional” in their match against South Africa in the ongoing AFCON U-20 tournament.

He, however, pointed out that the team’s finishing should be worked on ahead of their next encounter, saying the improvement in their scoring abilities would make them the team hard to beat during the tournament.

“The Flying Eagles I see playing in Niger Republic are good as future Super Eagles.

“What the coach needs to work on now very seriously is finishing,” Chukwu said.

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The former Green Eagles captain also urged the players to embrace team work during their match against the host country, Niger Republic which is their last group match.

NAN reports that the Flying Eagles will have to play their final group game before they can be assured of a place in the semi-finals of the ongoing U-20 Africa Cup of Nations.

Qualification for the semi-finals enables a national team to pick up one of the four tickets for the World Cup.

The Coach Paul Aigbogun-tutored side were held to a barren draw by South Africa on Tuesday at the Seyni Koutche Stadium in Niamey.

The situation as it is, means the Flying Eagles’ qualification for the World Cup and the semi-finals of the tournament is still hanging in the balance.

The Flying Eagles had won their first game 2-0 against Burundi and they had been tagged as the favourite against the Amajita of South Africa.

South Africa had played a 1-1 draw against host Niger in their group opener; hence they needed a good result to stay in contention.

In Tuesday’s second group game, the Flying Eagles dominated the early exchanges and contained South Africa effectively.

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The duo of Maxwell Effiong and Nazifi Yahaya, who both scored in Sunday’s game against Burundi, posed a constant threat to South Africa. But goalkeeper of the Amajita did well to maintain a clean sheet throughout the match.

In the second half, the Flying Eagles continued their dominance as South Africa defended stoutly to earn a share of the spoils and thus allow World Cup qualification to go to the wire.

Nigeria still sits on top of Group A with four points while South Africa have two points. Niger Republic and Burundi are set to play each other in the other group game.

Amajita will face Burundi in their final Group A clash on Friday evening and Flying Eagles will take on the host nation Niger.

The Flying Eagles still have their destiny in their own hands as they only need to avoid defeat in their last game against hosts Niger to ensure qualification for the semi-finals of the competition.