Golden Eaglets captain, Kelechi Nwakali, has warned his team cannot afford
to underrate Brazil in Sunday’s FIFA U-17 World Cup quarter final clash
although the team defeated the South American champions recently.
Nigeria pipped mighty Brazil 2-1 at the Suwon International tournament in
South Korea prior to the World Cup in Chile and while the Eaglets had
cruised through to the last-eight of the World Cup, three-time champions
Brazil labored to reach the stage, africanFootball.com reports.
But skipper Nwakali said what will matter most on Sunday night will be
what both teams do on the pitch.
“It was just a friendly (Eaglets 2-1 win over Brazil in Korea), and this game
will be totally different. It doesn’t matter what others say because we’ll
never underestimate anyone, least of all Brazil,” africanFootball.com quoted
Nwakali as saying in an interview with FIFA.com
“It’s a mistake to say that simply because we beat Australia 6-0 and the
Brazilians beat New Zealand 1-0. It doesn’t matter how they won. They won
because they were better and that’s all we should be worried about.”
Nigeria has won the U-17 World Cup a record four times – 1985, 1993, 2007
and 2013 – and the captain declared the team wants to make it a fifth time
in Chile.