Golden Eaglets
PRE-WAFU FRIENDLY: Miracle Academy forces Golden Eaglets to a 1-1 draw
Miracle Academy from Abia State forced the Golden Eaglets to a 1-1 draw in a friendly match played at the FIFA Goal Project field within the National Stadium in Abuja.
The match, which took place on Wednesday night, was one of the exhibition matches scheduled to get the team ready for their upcoming WAFU B U-17 Cup of Nations title defence in Ghana next month.
The Eaglets, who will play Burkina Faso, Niger Republic, and Togo in Group B of the WAFU B tournament, conceded a goal early before mounting a comeback to tie the score at 1-1.
The friendly game comes days after the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) noted that it is prioritising a pre-camp MRI test for Golden Eaglets players ahead of the WAFU Zone B U-17 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
This was revealed by Francis Achi, the team media officer, in an interview with Punch Sports Extra. He noted that the NFF is committed to selecting players within the age bracket.
He explained that the action was taken to prevent scenarios in the past where teams suffered severe depletion after players who had passed the screening exercise were cut after the MRI test was negative.
Achi claims that all players scouted by coach Manu Garba and invited to the Golden Eaglets camp are required to have an MRI scan at specific NFF-approved facilities.