2023 U-17 AFCON: Golden Eaglets Coach Ugbade reacts to Nigeria's thrilling 3-2 win over South Africa

Head Coach of Nigeria's U-17 team Nduka Ugbade is a relieved man following his side's victory over South Africa in a game that ended in a five-goal thriller.

The Golden Eaglets bounced back to winning ways with a 3-2 victory following their defeat against Morocco in their previous fixture.

The win guaranteed the Eaglets a place in the quarterfinals after they finished 2nd in Group B.

Speaking in a post-match interview with CAFonline, the Golden Eaglets gaffer noted that the win served as a reprieve for him after the team had to come from behind twice to snatch the win.

“It was a really tough match because South Africa is a really good team and they gave us a tough time. They have three players that are really good; Mabena (Siyabonga), Mkhawana (Vicky) and Dokunmu (Michael). They are very talented players and I was honestly scared of them at first,” Ugbade said.

“We worked a bit in training and we did some corrections. We realized that it was purely psychological and we talked to the players and we saw an improvement today. We might have conceded two but I am glad we scored three,” he added.

A qualification to the next round will guarantee the Eaglets automatic qualification to the FIFA World Cup.

WDN