Ibadan – Sam Elijah, a former Flying Eagles player, says Brazil cannot stop the Flying Eagles from winning honours at the upcoming 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand this June.
Elijah, the Coach of Kwara Football Academy, said on Saturday in Ibadan that the Nigerian under-20 men football side were too qualitative to be pushed aside by their Brazilian counterparts.
The coach, who was a member of the legendary “Damman Miracle’’ team coached by Tunde Disu, said the Flying Eagles were too compact and disciplined for the Brazilian team to beat.
He observed that the present Flying Eagles team were a replica of his 1989 squad in terms of team spirit, adding that the team was capable of winning the competition.
Elijah said he saw the same resilience of the Tunde Disu team in the Manu Garba-led team.
“Whenever I look at the team, I see their doggedness and resilience and I am sure they will go far in the tournament like we did then.
“This is a team made of boys, who are highly bent on doing Nigeria proud and not those playing for money,’’ he said.
On his team, the coach said Kwara Football Academy was a young team of under-18 players, who combine football with academics.
Elijah said it was a team in progress, and it would be difficult for now to say whether or not they would win the national edition of the Federation Cup competition.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the former defender’s Kwara Football Academy defeated Maracana Football Club of Ekiti 3-2 in a 2015 Federation Cup playoff match.
The match was played at the Lekan Salami Stadium in Ibadan on Wednesday.