Nigeria national under-17 football team

Nigeria U-17
Nickname(s) Golden Eaglets
Association Nigeria Football Association
Confederation CAF (Africa)
Head coach Emmanuel Amuneke[1]
Captain Kelechi Nwakali
Home stadium Abuja Stadium
FIFA code NGA
First colours
Second colours
Africa U-17 Cup of Nations
Appearances 8 (first in 1995)
Best result Champions, 2001, 2007
FIFA U-17 World Cup
Appearances 11 (first in 1985)
Best result Champions, 1985, 1993, 2007, 2013, 2015
Nigeria national under-17 football team
Medal record
U-17 World Cup
1985 China Team
1993 Japan Team
2007 South Korea Team
2013 United Arab Emirates Team
2015 Chile Team

The Golden Eaglets are Nigeria's national under-17 football team.[2]

History

The team won the maiden edition of FIFA U-17 World Cup in 1985 at China, the 1985 Edition tournament was sponsored by Kodak (when it was known as the U-16 tournament), 1993, 2007, 2013, and 2015 (Becoming only the second team since Brazil to win it back to back); making them the first team ever to win the junior world cup five times.[3] They also won the African Under-17 Championship in 2001 and 2007, and were runners-up in 1995.

After the 2007 victory there was some discussion as to whether the success should be rewarded in the form of cash, or if longer-term investments were more suitable for teenage players. It was pointed out that some previous players had found themselves reduced to poverty due to injury or mismanagement of their funds.[3]

Heading into the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup, head coach Henry Nwosu was replaced by John Obuh, coach of Kwara United.[4]

Although Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup, they participated again in the 2013 edition of the tournament. Planning was thrown into disarray however in August when key members of the team was determined by MRI scanning to be overage and excluded from the team.[5] In their first match, the team defeated the defending champions Mexico with a 6-1 score. They only failed to defeat Sweden in the group stage, but they did so in the semi-finals. In the final match they faced and defeated Mexico for a second time, obtaining their fourth U-17 World Cup and becoming the national team to win the most U-17 tournaments so far.

The team were again the subject of age cheating accusations when 26 members, almost half, of the squad failed MRI tests in 2016.[6]

Honours

Africa U-17 Cup of Nations
FIFA U-17 World Cup

Competitive record

A gold background colour indicates that Nigeria won the tournament.

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Staff

Management

  • Team Coordinator: Suleiman Abubakar
  • Secretary: Egbaiyelo Tayo
  • Media Coordinator: Morakinyo Abodunrin

Sports

Medical

  • Doctor: Olarinoye Ayodeji
  • Physiotherapist: Oyegunna Gabriel
  • Equipment Manager: Mohammed Kafa Usman

Current squad

List of 20 players named for the 2019 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations qualification:[8]

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK John Amah (2002-11-21) 21 November 2002 Nigeria
16 1GK John Essien (2004-12-25) 25 December 2004 Nigeria
20 1GK Joseph Oluwabusola (2003-01-01) 1 January 2003 Nigeria
6 2DF David Ishaya (2002-10-10) 10 October 2002 Nigeria
3 2DF Sunday Odey (2002-06-16) 16 June 2002 Nigeria
5 2DF Clement Ikenna (2003-03-16) 16 March 2003 Nigeria
12 2DF Muhammad Ibrahim (2002-12-15) 15 December 2002 Nigeria
15 2DF Adam Mustapha (2002-11-16) 16 November 2002 Nigeria
2DF Sani Suleiman Nigeria
18 3MF Tunde Akinsola (2003-03-10) 10 March 2003 Nigeria
4 3MF Samson Tijani (2002-05-17) 17 May 2002 Nigeria
10 3MF Hassan Hussain (2002-11-21) 21 November 2002 Nigeria El Kanemi Warriors
13 3MF Akinkunmi Amoo (2002-06-07) 7 June 2002 Nigeria
17 3MF Peter Agba (2002-12-20) 20 December 2002 Nigeria
19 3MF Ibraheem Jabaar (2002-10-24) 24 October 2002 Nigeria
14 3MF Olutomi Olaniyan (2002-02-05) 5 February 2002 Nigeria
9 4FW Timilehin Adeniyi (2002-05-12) 12 May 2002 Nigeria
3MF Saviour Isaac Nigeria
7 4FW Olakunle Olusegun Jr. (2002-04-23) 23 April 2002 Nigeria
11 4FW Favour Akem (2002-01-21) 21 January 2002 Nigeria

Notable former players

   

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Emmanuel Amunike named Nigeria U17 coach". Goal.com. 25 February 2014.
  2. ↑ "Fifa U17 World Cup: Champions Nigeria must avoid stereotypes in modern age | The National". Thenational.ae. 2013-11-09. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Nigeria: Golden Eaglets - Return of the Argonauts". Archived from the original on 6 April 2012.
  4. ↑ Egbokhan, John (13 August 2009). "Nwosu predicts doom for Eaglets". Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  5. ↑ Okeleji, Oluwashina (19 August 2013). "Nigeria U-17 players fail age tests ahead of the World Cup". BBC. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  6. ↑ "Nigeria's under-17 squad wiped out as half are older than 17". BBC. 5 August 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Jonathan splashes cash on Golden Eaglets". Premiumtimesng.com. 2013-05-22. Retrieved 2013-06-03.
  8. ↑ https://www.pulse.ng/sports/football/golden-eaglets-squad-and-fixtures-for-wafu-zone-b-u-17-afcon-id8800692.html
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