Golden Eaglets head coach Manu Garba says the team’s inadequate preparation played a key role in the draw against Burkina Faso.
The defending champions started their campaign at the 2024 WAFU B U-17 Championship with a 0-0 draw against Burkina Faso.
The Eaglets were in ascendancy for the majority of the game but couldn’t find a way past their opponent defence.
Garba stated that his team didn’t prepare well for the competition which reflected in the performance against the Burkinabes.
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“The match against Burkina Faso was only the first international game by the team,” he said after the game.
“Burkina Faso were better prepared than us. They went on a playing tour, just like Ghana.
“But hopefully we will get better as the tournament progresses.”
The Golden Eaglets will face Niger Republic in their next game at the University Stadium on Sunday.
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Nigeria will surely top the group
God bless Nigeria
I’m going to keep hammering on the NFF and Gusau until they finally get their act together. Seriously, how do these guys manage to screw up so consistently? It’s common knowledge that our teams get zero preparation time for international competitions. I mean, can anyone remember the last time a Nigerian team had a decent prep before a major tournament? Anyone? Yeah, me neither.
It’s become our national sport to slap together a team in a few weeks, send them off to face the world’s best, and then act shocked when they crash out. But under this administration, it’s hit rock bottom. The Super Falcons went to the World Cup without a single friendly match beforehand. Not one! It’s like sending soldiers to war without any training and expecting them to win.
The U20 team for the last All Africa Games in Ghana had a whopping two weeks of training. The U17 team for the recent championship had four weeks. Four weeks! Our junior female teams and even the U20 male team for the FIFA U20 Championship in Argentina got the same shabby treatment.
And don’t get me started on the U23 team. The NFF actually went dumpster diving in Division 4 in Spain for players, and then, for a touch of comic relief, they hired the infamous Salisu, a guy who couldn’t manage a lemonade stand, let alone a football team. And surprise, surprise, we didn’t qualify for the African U23 Championship. Shocking, I know.
Nigeria won’t be at the next CHAN, not because we lack talent, but because the NFF couldn’t organize a two-car parade. And who do they pick to lead the team? The same corrupt, incompetent Salisu. It’s like they have a dartboard of bad decisions and just keep hitting bullseye.
The insanity doesn’t stop there. With the current U17 team, the NFF didn’t even know who would coach the team four weeks before the competition. They had no clue about which players to select, dealing with MRI issues, injuries, and figuring out a strategy. It’s like watching a train wreck in slow motion.
Why aren’t the stakeholders speaking up? Why do we keep expecting miracles from coaches working with these ill-prepared teams? The talent is there, but the preparation is a joke. This generation of players is at risk of being wasted, just like so many before them. Meanwhile, Ghana and Burkina Faso had their teams in camp for months, went on training tours, and played in decent international competitions. What on earth happened to us?
The NFF’s incompetence is legendary. They’ve turned what should be a source of national pride into a running joke. And until they start doing their jobs properly, they’ll keep hearing from people like me. Walahi I won’t stop
Well said, Papafem.
These guys are a complete joke. It’s unbelievable.
You are so right @Papa F. NFF Kalo Kalo, NFF No Plans, we hate them. Lolz
@papafem…. The NFF will never change. And just to give you a heads up the super eagles will not qualify for the 2026 world cup. Our Nff is the most disorganize institution in the world.How on earth would dthe nff hired George finidi as a head coach of the super eagles. What has he accomplished as a coach???
This is true @Tee. NFF Wuru Wuru. They are not doing well. NFF Smeh Smeh.
You are still going while others have left it behind, the bottoming is that, thta decision will not change even if shout it tomorrow. It’s better will we move on om that
I won’t accept this preparation thing from manu garba These guys are not coming from Europe or premier league. What stops him from organising simple games from peers in secondary schools and peers club side. Do you need Nff to take them to any field and play their mates. Common manu he should have improvised knowing the nff
@Ezomo, it’s because we keep “moving on”, that is why they never change.
I like the way Papafem and others are speaking out. Maybe, just maybe, the NFF will listen.
Our NFF is a huge embarrassment
So na here NFF go hear them ? Do they even have time to read all the epistle here , do they even read news paper , go to their x account, Facebook account go put everything Der, den e go dey meaningful at least den go see am read.
Ok we we decide not ” move on ” will that affect them in any decisions that want make?
Until we the Nigerian football fan come out seriously against those mediocre in the NFF, nothing good will ever happen. Its very disappointing and disheartening knowing and seeing all those yeye administrators running and ruining our football and football stars future .
Papafem thank you for your patriotic alarm, I hope there is a way to trumpet it to the authority that can call their attention to their lacklustre performance.
Certainly not this medium, becos as fat as i know they don’t even have time to read newspapers
@Ik, sorry but you can’t fault garba here, he was just made the coach last month. That’s definitely not enough time to go around and scout for players. I believe most of this players were quickly assembled. Gone are the days we had principal cup tournament that has now gone into extinction. At this stage we can only be praying for all national teams because, with this maladministration we encountering, it’s only God that can come to our rescue. One would think as business men and women that some of them are they would be able to translate their wealth of experience on how to make the national team successful.
Guys pls nobody should Garba nothing works in that Nigeria everything sucks, all the leaders in that country are brainless, nothing will change until a serious revolution happens. Even in jungle they’ve laws and order, they’ve leaders. Nigeria is worse than a jungle, most regulars folks in Nigeria are great people, compassionate and caring. But our leaders are like Hayenas.
Regular?The leaders are they Americans?
Haba @IK, how in the world did you expect a coach who hadn’t even been appointed to start scouting for players? The poor guy didn’t even know he was going to get the job! He needed to be officially hired, get all the logistical support from the NFF, and then be sent on the mission before he could even think about assembling a team.
And it’s not like these players were all hanging out in one academy, ready to be picked up like ripe tomatoes. He had to reach out to different clubs and academies, network like a social butterfly, and travel all over the place to find talent. There was no open camp, where eligible players from across the country gather to be assessed. Why? Because time was totally against him, thanks to the NFF, who waited until about four weeks before the competition to do anything remotely sensible.
So, in those precious few weeks, Manu had to recruit players nationwide, call them to camp, play friendly matches, perfect his strategy, deal with the heartbreak of MRI screenings, pick his final team, and then head into the competition. Really? Does this sound like enough time to raise the next generation of Super Eagles? Meanwhile, teams like Ghana and Burkina Faso had been in camp for months, playing quality friendly matches and going on international tours. While the NFF was still scratching their heads over who to appoint, Ghana was already in Europe, playing against top teams.
Any serious football federation knows better than to mess around with their development teams. Look at countries that dominate internationally, and you’ll find a well-oiled youth system designed to churn out stars. France, Spain, Germany, Italy—they didn’t just wake up one day and win the World Cup. They’ve been grooming generations of players through their youth systems. Did you know Franck Kessié, who scored that crucial goal against Nigeria in the last AFCON final, was part of Ivory Coast’s U-17 team that beat Nigeria in 2013? His success wasn’t a fluke—it was the result of careful planning by the Ivorian federation. Same story for Toni Kroos with Germany’s U-17 and Granit Xhaka with Switzerland’s U-17. From Nigeria’s 2009 team, only Kenneth Omeruo is still playing today.
But the NFF treats the U-17 team like a side hustle, showing no seriousness. Yet, they keep promising us a solid senior national team. Where exactly is this miracle team supposed to come from? The moon? That’s why we’re chasing players like Eze and Olise—because we don’t have a youth system that produces such talent. Meanwhile, there are countless gifted players roaming the streets, waiting to be discovered. Honestly, I’m beyond frustrated with these people.
It’s amazing Manu managed to pull together such a talented squad in so short a time. But look at what lack of preparation did to them. Burkina Faso wouldn’t have stood a chance if our boys had been properly prepped. It’s a colossal embarrassment for Gusau and his team.
I think there are some potential talents in that team. They look like a team that will gel as the tournament progresses. Can’t fault anybody here. No time to waste time. It’s still the GoldenEaglets.
NFF Jatijati did not prepare the players for the tournament. Lolzzzz
Papafem. You’re right. This cuts across every face of the Nigerian society. Mediocrity. Go to Nigerian public schools. See how they make students learn under terrible conditions.
Go to Nigerian local government and see the nonesense they carry out there.
Can we form a group to bombard nff and sports ministers social handles with comments and posts. That’s better than saying it all here. They won’t read it here.
Going forward. Garba should just live with this. He accepted the task anyway. He should be mindful of his comments at this stage so that it won’t dampen the morale of the players. He should pump possibilities into the hearts of these players. After all the team has huge potentials. Even Burkina Faso with all their preparation couldn’t not really match the team. So if I am Garba I will be careful with my statement at this crucial moments.
Where is SWaN. Where are the press association. They should go hard on this useless officials of nff. They should.
It is very true the same thing to u20, u23, local eagles all. They wait till last day, at least preparation should start Two months earlier because those boys are not from Europe.
That is very bad on NFF
They killing children talent
The problem we have here is that our football administrators are just there to share money because how on earth will someone appoint a coach one month to a major competition and the person will fell and you will sack him and you will wait for another two years to appoint another coach maybe one month to the same competition again and someone will tell they’re incompetent they don’t know what they’re doing, guys let me tell all of you that these people knows what they’re doing because they have family members or children and that they use to give their children second chance if they fell exam or a test but they can give all the coaches that they employe late a second chance like this time i employe you late if you fell this time you have more two years to prepare for the next competition and all your salary will be paid and that is how all the countries that succeed do but knowing that if they do that their will be not much for them to share they will continue destroying our football maybe one day God may provide us administrators that are honest that have love for the game
@Ik, when was Manu Garba appointed coach?!
Or do you expect that he would use his own money and be scouting players and organizing games without even knowing that he would be the team’s coach?! One of our big problems in Nigeria is that instead of engaging in earnest institutional retrospection and reform, we look for a scapegoat and then move on – only to REPEAT our collective insanity!