Nigeria U-17 coach, Emmanuel Amuneke has reacted to suggestions that his team is basically built around just two players- Captain Kelechi Nwakali and Victor Osimhen.
Both players proved to be key men during the CAF U17 championship in Niger Republic earlier in the year, and have continued to carry the team with their goals and impressive performances.
But Amuneke said there are other good players in his team and not just Nwakali and Osimhen.
“I don’t have to agree or disagree with people’s opinion on such matter but I think this team is not based only on Nwakali and Osimhen; we have other good players in the team” Amuneke argued.
“I don’t always like to talk about individual players; we should not forget that these are players just growing up and we should not put too much pressure on them. I want all the players to work for each other; play as a team and that is the only way we can get the best out of them.
“People easily mention Nwakali and Osimhen because they have been with us for a very long time but in the process of building this team, we have seen other good players. I just want all our players to go out there and do their best,” Amuneke stressed.
Both players are already living up to expectations, with Osimhen already in three goals, while Nwakali has scored one.
The team has qualified for the round of 16 of the competition having won their second game 5-1 against Chile.