Adedokun Waliyu 
The ongoing Africa U20 Cup of Nations in Egypt is in the crucial quarterfinal stage, with World Cup qualification just a victory away .
The four victors in the quarter-final fixtures win a ticket to represent Africa at the FIFA U20 World Cup scheduled for Indonesia from 20 May to 11 June.
With the stakes so high, Nigeria’s Flying Eagles are looking forward to a win against their Uganda counterparts, who have been one of the dark horses in Egypt.
Though he admits it will be a feisty clash, Flying Eagles coach Ladan Bosso believes he has the men to get the job done against Uganda’s Hippos.
“Before we left our training camp in Morocco, the NFF President, Ibrahim Musa Gusau, told us clearly that the first objective should be getting a ticket to the FIFA World Cup. We are at that most important stage now and we cannot afford to falter.
“We are aware that Nigerians are looking up to us to deliver. While our mission remains bagging the World Cup ticket, we are also eyeing the trophy, which is still a number of matches away. For the moment, we have Uganda in our view and we are working hard to see that we control proceedings on Thursday.” Bosso said during the build-up to Thursday’s make-or-mar clash.
Nigeria will play Thursday’s must-win match without captain Daniel Bameyi. The hard-tackling defender misses out because of an accumulation of yellow cards he got in the group games against Senegal and Mozambique.
“But while Bosso is confident of victory against the East Africans, the Uganda coach, Jackson Mayanja is also unequivocal in his ultimate target of qualifying for the World Cup.
“For the time I was given the role as Hippos coach, I made it clear that qualification to the World Cup is the goal. We have come a long way and are now closer to it. We play Nigeria, which is a strong side, but we know what this match means to us. It is a game that can turn around Ugandan football, and change our lives, especially for the players,” he said.
The Uganda-20 Captain Isma Mugulusi is also confident they can secure what will be a historic win against Nigeria’s Flying Eagles
“It is a big game against a big nation with history, but we also want to write history. We are going to go all out, leave everything on the pitch because this is the moment we have been waiting for.”
“The much-anticipated Nigeria, Uganda clash is scheduled for the 22,000-capacity Suez Canal Authority Stadium in Ismailia from 7 pm Egypt time (6 pm Nigeria time) on Thursday.
