Nigeria and Burkina Faso will butt heads on Thursday night in an African Cup of Nations Under-17 quarterfinals clash at the Nelson Mandela Stadium, Algiers, Algeria.
Nigeria qualified after coming from behind to beat South Africa 3 – 2 in a tension soaked last group stage match. Burkina Faso, ‘Les Etalons’, advanced on points aggregate despite a 1-1 draw with Togo.
The winner of this encounter will represent Africa at the 2023 Fifa Under-17 World Cup.
Golden Eaglets defender Emmanuel Michael said the players were ready for the match.
“We have prepared well for this match and we are ready for the tie. We want to give our best as a good result will qualify us for the World Cup and this is our ambition,” the centre-back said during his interaction with the media on Wednesday.
Tough nut to crack
Burkina Faso midfielder Appolinaire Bougma said the motivation to play at the World Cup will spur the team in the match.
“This is like a final because whoever wins plays at the World Cup. We will go into the match highly motivated and with our target of earning the qualification. We respect Nigeria as they are a good team but we will do everything to beat them,” he told local media.
The game will kick-off at 8pm Nigerian time. Mali plays against Congo in the other quarter final match.
Senegal and Morocco have already qualified for the semi-final of the tournament and secured their tickets to the U-17 World Cup.
