Graba: It's A Cup Final

Flying Eagles coach Manu Garba has described Sunday’s opening game of the African Youth Championship against hosts Senegal as his team’s most important match.


“Our opening game is as good as the final,” Manu said at his team’s official press conference at Leopold Sedar Senghor in Dakar on Saturday.

“We will not toy with this game as we want to win it. It is our most important match of the tournament.

“They say the journey of a million miles starts with the first step. We want to win and go all the way.
“If you lost the first game, you will most likely struggle in the tournament.”

He added: “At the 2013 CAF U17 Championship we beat Ghana 6-1 in our opening game. We also beat Mexico 6-1 in our opening game at the FIFA U17 World Cup.

“We went all the way on both occasions.”