Just like Ghana, Nigeria won the African Youth Championship in Johannesburg on Sunday, defeating Cameroon 3-2 and will lead Africa’s charge to the world stage where it has been twice runners up in 1989 and 2005. Ghana was also twice runners up before it eventually won its third final against Brazil in Egypt two years ago.
“Our target now is to conquer the world in Colombia. We have a strong squad that works as a unit and I think it’s what we need to do well in Colombia,” Azeez was quoted by The Punch.
“We were able to work together as a team at the AYC because the NFF made sure that we had a comprehensive preparation, not minding the cost. You cannot have that kind of preparation and fail to succeed in a competition. We stayed together for so long even when the competition was postponed indefinitely.”
Azeez, who plays at Almeria in Spain, said defeating Ghana at the AYC was good and will give confidence to his side going into the World Youth Championship.
“We played Ghana and beat them in South Africa, so there is nothing for us to prove to anyone again.”
He, however, noted that there is much to be done in order to achieve the aim of winning on the big stage in July.
“There is still work to be done. Playing in Africa is not the same thing as playing on the world stage. We have a lot to still learn in the game. We surrendered two goals against Cameroon in the final and it could have meant failure on the whole. In Colombia, we should avoid such a slip,” Azeez said.
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Nigeria U-20 captain Ramon Azeez believes his side can follow Ghana’s footsteps and win World Cup