Daniel Bameyi, the Flying Eagles captain, believes his team can become the second African country to win the FIFA U-20 World Cup if the Nigerian side can play with discipline and dedication against South Korea.
The Nigerian side have made it to the final twice in the past but failed to clinch the title.
Ladan Bosso’s boys will trade tackles with South Korea after recording a historic 2-0 win against hosts Argentina in the Round of 16 on Wednesday night.
“Yeah. This is football, everything can happen, any team is beatable. As my coach would say, we just have to be disciplined, dedicated, do our job, concentrate. Let’s see how it goes, but I believe in this team. We can do it,” Bameyi told FIFA.com.
The defender stressed that no team should be underrated while saying that the Flying Eagles will respect their Korean opposition.
“First of all, there is no small team in the World Cup. Every team in this competition is good. You must respect every team,”Bameyi added.
“Then any team in the knockout stage is obviously very good. I think the Koreans are a very good team. They have beaten other very good teams. I think they have very good players. We have a lot of respect for them.”
Speaking on what it would mean to him should Nigeria win the title, the flying eagles centre back said: “Wow, it would go a long way because there are so many kids out there, who started where we started, and are looking up to us. It would go a long way. I would also give hope to those who are coming from the streets. It would make us proud.”
After the historic 2-0 victory over Argentina in the Round of 16, Flying Eagles head coach, Ladan Bosso said the team’s accomplishment was as a result of the thorough execution of their game plan: “We stuck to our game plan, and we got it right.” The players’ discipline and commitment to the coaching staff’s tactics paid off nicely, resulting in a comfortable victory over Argentina, he said.