Nigerian developer Bosso defends Flying Eagles disastrous African Games outing

Ladan Bosso has leapt to the defence of his Nigeria U20 side following their shambolic group stage exit at the 2024 African Games in Ghana.

The Flying Eagles failed to progress to the semi-finals after picking up just one win from their three Group B matches against Uganda, South Sudan and Senegal.

Their 3-2 loss to Senegal in the final group game condemned Nigeria's youngsters to an early elimination in a major blow to the country's footballing ambitions.

However, head coach Bosso insisted his team's struggles were mainly down to a critical lack of preparatory time together ahead of the tournament in Ghana.

"I have said it earlier, there are things that at youth level you don't compromise," Bosso said in a video posted by ElegbeteTV on YouTube.

"These players that are with us here if properly trained, in good time, they can go to the World Cup."

"Our greatest disappointment is the lack of blending and why? Because a team comes to a tournament, 13 days of training sessions, including two, or three friendly matches. So, we started late and that is the big lesson for us, the team and Nigeria."

The experienced coach was keen to highlight his proven track record when it comes to developing and integrating young Nigerian talents into the full senior national team set-up.

"I am a developer and I have always developed players for the Super Eagles," Bosso added. "After the 2007 FIFA U20 World Cup, six players progressed to the Super Eagles."

Despite Bosso's defense, Nigeria's shambolic African Games campaign represented a huge missed opportunity for the country's up-and-coming crop of U20 stars to announce themselves on the continental stage.

Can they bounce back stronger with the U20 World Cup on the horizon? Or will this failure just prolong the strain on the Nigerian football system's ability to nurture top young talents?