Golden Eagles manager, Emmanuel Amunike has admitted that selecting his final 21 players for the October's FIFA U-17 world cup in Chile has been uneasy.
He insisted that they are evaluating all the players in camp to ensure they select the players in the right frame of mind to defend the title successfully.
"I don’t have anybody in my head. Selecting the best 21 players is not as easy as that. We, I mean the technical crew, have to sit down and evaluate the performance of the players; and pick the ones that would be very useful to us," Amuneke said.
"We still have days to the World Cup but we would evaluate the players so that at the end of the day, we would take only those who can do the business for us in Chile. Only the best players would be taken to Chile because I want all the players to be able to play when occasion demands.
"The state of our team is that we are still preparing. We are glad that we were part of the Intercontinental competition in Suwon, Korea because it gave us the opportunity to assess the players individually and collectively, as a team," he continues.
"So, we are working towards the World Cup in Chile and we are hopeful that we would be able to give a good account of ourselves when we get to Chile.
He said they are under no pressure as title holders but admits team motivation to record success in Chile so as not to disappoint Nigerians.
"In football, you can say that everything has been done at this stage; it is a continuous process even when we get to the World Cup because you still have to prepare the team in order to face the challenges of the matches to be played.
"We were not bothered about the final position of the team at the tournament in Suwon; rather, we were concerned with the response of the players based on what we are demanding from them," the ex-international said.
"I’m happy for the players because they gave a very good account of themselves and that gives us hope that we will do our best at the World Cup. However, we are not getting carried away about anything yet.
"We are still working on our lapses and when we go to our training camp in Argentina, we will intensify our preparation so that when October 17th comes, we would be ready to play and give our best against USA.
"I’m not under any pressure but I have the sense of direction that we are the defending champions at this level. I don’t want us to dwell so much on that. We keep working quietly and hard; when the time comes, we shall be ready.
However, he said his side will not underrate any side at the competition as they hope to take each game as it comes.
"We are going to cope very well and that is why we are the defending champions. No team would be a push -over at the World Cup and it was great we went to Suwon because our boys can now see a clear picture of what to expect in Chile.
"All the 24 teams going to Chile have one objective: To win the World Cup. That means we must be on top of our game if we want to win. We would be ready for the World Cup, that I can assure you," he concluded.
The Golden Eaglets begin their title defence against the United States U17 on October 17 at the Estadio Nacional Julio MartÃnez Prádanos, Santiago. Goal
"I don’t have anybody in my head. Selecting the best 21 players is not as easy as that. We, I mean the technical crew, have to sit down and evaluate the performance of the players; and pick the ones that would be very useful to us," Amuneke said.
"We still have days to the World Cup but we would evaluate the players so that at the end of the day, we would take only those who can do the business for us in Chile. Only the best players would be taken to Chile because I want all the players to be able to play when occasion demands.
"The state of our team is that we are still preparing. We are glad that we were part of the Intercontinental competition in Suwon, Korea because it gave us the opportunity to assess the players individually and collectively, as a team," he continues.
"So, we are working towards the World Cup in Chile and we are hopeful that we would be able to give a good account of ourselves when we get to Chile.
He said they are under no pressure as title holders but admits team motivation to record success in Chile so as not to disappoint Nigerians.
"In football, you can say that everything has been done at this stage; it is a continuous process even when we get to the World Cup because you still have to prepare the team in order to face the challenges of the matches to be played.
"We were not bothered about the final position of the team at the tournament in Suwon; rather, we were concerned with the response of the players based on what we are demanding from them," the ex-international said.
"I’m happy for the players because they gave a very good account of themselves and that gives us hope that we will do our best at the World Cup. However, we are not getting carried away about anything yet.
"We are still working on our lapses and when we go to our training camp in Argentina, we will intensify our preparation so that when October 17th comes, we would be ready to play and give our best against USA.
"I’m not under any pressure but I have the sense of direction that we are the defending champions at this level. I don’t want us to dwell so much on that. We keep working quietly and hard; when the time comes, we shall be ready.
However, he said his side will not underrate any side at the competition as they hope to take each game as it comes.
"We are going to cope very well and that is why we are the defending champions. No team would be a push -over at the World Cup and it was great we went to Suwon because our boys can now see a clear picture of what to expect in Chile.
"All the 24 teams going to Chile have one objective: To win the World Cup. That means we must be on top of our game if we want to win. We would be ready for the World Cup, that I can assure you," he concluded.
The Golden Eaglets begin their title defence against the United States U17 on October 17 at the Estadio Nacional Julio MartÃnez Prádanos, Santiago. Goal
Amunike Says He's Facing Issues Selecting his World Cup Squad
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