South Africa and Nigeria are tied on three points heading into the decisive final group game at the U17 AFCON.
South Africa’s Duncan Crowie says his U17 boys are ready to take their destiny in their own hands ahead of the decisive game against Nigeria later today in Constantine.
Nigeria and South Africa go head-to-head in a decisive final game in Group B to determine who joins Morocco in the knockout stage of the U17 AFCON in Algeria.
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To outrightly qualify from Group B, Nigeria must avoid defeat against South Africa. But that's not all.
Both teams go into this fixture tied on three points after each had won one and lost the other in their opening two matches so far.
Crowie praise for Nigeria
With the stakes high ahead of the game slated for tonight, coach Crowie wants to see his side take matters into their own hands.
Speaking to CAF Online during his pre-match press conference, Crowie paid glowing tribute to Nigeria’s performance against Morocco in the previous game.
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A convincing Zambia win over Morocco in the other Group B game could put the loser of Nigeria vs South Africa's game at risk of elimination.
According to him, the Golden Eaglets were unfortunate to come out of the game with nothing and he expects to see them looking like wounded lions against his side.
“They played a very quality game in their last match and we know they will come into this tie like a wounded animal,” Crowie told CAF.
“They can be a very dangerous team and there is always quality in that side. It will be a fantastic game. Despite losing that game, I still think they had a lot of quality that should not be ignored.”
22:44 - 04.05.2023
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Nigeria fell to a heartbreaking 1-0 defeat on Wednesday, despite dominating possession of the ball, and attempting 27 shots.
South Africa looks to upset Eaglets
Speaking further on the game, the South African boss added that while has a quality team, he added that he Amajimbos will go into the tie to win it,
“We want to concentrate on getting a result for ourselves and not having to depend on someone else,” he added.
20:48 - 23.04.2023
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Nigeria are drawn in Group B with Zambia, Morocco and South Africa, and would play their first match on Sunday, April 30.
“Our ultimate goal is to go into the match the objective to win. We don’t care if Nigeria come spitting fire. We want our boys to spit more fire. Whoever wants it more will get it.”
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