Nduka Ugbade Can Become First U17 World Cup Winner As Player And Coach

Nduka Ugbade Can Become First U17 World Cup Winner As Player And Coach

By Gbenga Gboyega

Head Coach of the Nigeria U17 national team Nduka Ugbade will set his sight beyond clinching a World Cup ticket and winning the AFCON, to going the distance on the World stage for a record-setting feat, BSNSports.com.ng writes.

The 53-year-old coach was captured alongside the Golden Eaglet team in training, making shooting and passing drills in preparation for their opening encounter on Sunday evening.

The Golden Eaglets face Zambia in the first Group B game of the tournament at 6:00 pm, before Morocco faces South Africa by 8 pm on Sunday. Then second and third group games against South Africa and Morocco will follow suit on Wednesday and Saturday respectively.

However, beyond successes on the continent and a potential World Cup ticket by reaching the final 4, Ugbade is poised to make history if the team eventually wins the FIFA U17 World Cup slated for November-December this year.

Ugbade captained Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets to win the inaugural Global Mundial for the U16s in China in 1985 as a player while picking up the silver medal at the U20 World Cup in Saudi Arabia in 1989.

"And like you know Nigeria has participated in World Cup competitions on this level, and I was the first ever in the world to be the captain of Nigeria that won it for the first time in China in 1985," Nduka stated after the team arrived in Algiers.

The icing on the cake came in 1994 when Nduka alongside the Super Eagles clinched the AFCON gold medal.

But the scale of preference for the young-studded team dictates clinching a World Cup ticket, and making the AFCON final, before shifting gears to stardom on the World stage.