Uninspiring U23 coach Salisu Yusuf vows to down Guinea in second leg
The Coach admitted that there were areas of concern in the team
Paris 2024 Olympic Eagles head Coach, Salisu Yusuf sounded bullish and unremorseful as he falsely claimed his team achieved a good result in the goalless draw against Guinea in their final round, first-leg CAF U23 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers on Wednesday.
The Olympic Eagles were held at the MKO Abiola Stadium, and finished the game with 10 men following the sending off of Christopher Nwaeze, but Yusuf insists there’s no cause for alarm.
The Coach also admitted that there were areas of concerns in the team, but the rest period before the return leg will afford them ample time to correct all the mistakes.
“We have a positive mindset to go there (Morocco) and win. It is football, when you do the right thing, you will get the opportunity to score; you can score and you can win, even away from home.”
“The most important thing is that we did not lose here because they had two shots on goal, which were very critical, but thank God the defenders reacted very quickly to it.
“But I’m very positive and still believe that we can still qualify if we work extra hard,” Salisu Yusuf told reporters after the match.
Meanwhile, Salisu Yusuf also used the opportunity to address the team’s preparation.
“We did not train together much, because we initially trained with the home (based) team, but when the Foreign based came, we needed to mix.
“If you observed, there were five home-based and six foreign-based in the first half, but you see, that is another factor because there was no coercion, but I think the two days will allow us to work there, they’re intelligent players. We’ll work on the tactics and strategies and we will see what happens in Morocco.”
