I tink Awoniyi is d worst so far......

The most utility player we have there is kelechi iheanacho. His absence was revealed immediately the coach removed him from the game. I can see a star in the boy. Ball control excellent.

Jona-The-Clown:
Someone called Theophilus Solomon is not in the team due to Naija politics...
Scoring 7 goals in 5 matches for Any Team is not a day job. He will makes it far ahead of these players. Infact Catania of Italy have already Signing him up. He is the future C. Ronaldo. Watching out for this Golden Words of Mine. Marks this date. 30th of October 2013 .
Jona-The-Clown Says So.
Signed

....Sent From My Android powered IPhone 5

HNK Rijeka talent Theophilus
Solomon , 17, has agreed a boot deal
with sportswear giants Adidas,
a llnigeriasoccer.com has been
specially informed.
Though the winger failed to make
the Golden Eaglets squad that will
represent Nigeria at the Fifa Under
17s, the kit manufacturer has
recognized his potential and drawn
up an endorsement deal.
There are no financial terms yet but
Solomon is set to be issued two
pairs of boots plus tops and shorts
every month.
He is one of the first Nigerian
youngsters to be recognized by the
Bavaria based company.
Meanwhile, the ex Juventus,
Fiorentina and AC Milan target has
agreed in principle to join Catania
on four - and - a - half year contract.
Should Theophilus Solomon get
positive feedback from the Italian
embassy, he will depart the shores
of the country in the next two weeks
to formalize terms with the Sicily
based outfit.
www.allnigeriasoccer.com/read_news.php?nid=10660

For me, it has to be nwakali,alfa and yahaya...
Should history repeat itself wit these eaglets, It seems those guyz who didnt make much noise at u-17 level always makes the breakthru quickest.

No sentiment attach, the strength of the team lies on the shulder of two young lad: Kelechi Ihenacho and Musa Yahaya. Mayb the captain no.2, Isaac is heard of, tanks to Kelechi and Yahaya. Kelechi do nt just score goals but is a goal assistor, has great composure, good closses, and never in a hurry to just shoot; he took his time. Yahaya is a huzzler and a fine scorer also. Awoniyi is also good, one of his problems is impatient to shoot and being under unneccessary tention to prove a point that the Eaglets can make it without her best striker, Isaac.

Its a good team, not the sum of its parts so to begin this kind of speculation is null. In my opinion the young men are average. There are no stars in the team. And this has helped them.

I was impressed with Musa Yahaya's performance two days ago. No wonder he's been dubbed the Nigerian Iniesta!

tbaba1234: Manu Garba and his team have done a great job in bringing together what i feel is one of the most talented U 17 team since Japan 93. Kanu, Oruma, Ojigwe and babayaro were graduates of that team and went on to have good careers. There were some other talents that disappeared, Anosike is one that comes to mind.

Good career decisions are often key in this regard. Onazi was a graduate of the 2009 set and is already a starter for both club and country. Omeruo has not quite broken through the ranks at chelsea but has shown remarkable growth since 2009. Ramon Azeez is beginning to start games for struggling Almeria, hopefully he can develop quickly as well. Stanley Okoro ended up in Bulgaria where he will most likely fade away.

My future stars from this set are as follows:

Musa Yahaya: Kanu is the most successful product of this system and i feel this boy is certainly a star in the making. A move to Holland, Belgium or Portugal will be ideal, i feel. First team action in any of those leagues will accelerate his development and set him for the big stage. Think Barca, Madrid, Man U, he is that good.

Isaac Success: Already signed for Udinese. Big strong striker.. Udinese will probably loan him out for a few seasons. If he stays fit and develops. We will be hearing his name for some time.

Kelechi Iheanacho: One word : composure. His finishes have been world class. He needs to make the step up when he faces stronger defenders that will give him little space. Daily mail reports that Arsenal are in for him. Good move.

Musa Muhammed: The captain. His movement up and down the pitch makes me feel his best position might be as a box to box midfielder. Impressive but will need to make the step up to be successful. Career move must be managed carefully.

These are the top four in my opinion... Who do you feel are the biggest prospects?

OP did u say prospects! Hehe! Those over aged boys should be talking about retirement and u r here saying prospects. Abeg free those cheats joor

These grown men can't be prospects naaa

I think Chidera Ezeh. That boy is talented. Man city, Chelsea and Arsenal has been monitoring him since he was 14. He has gone trial to Man city and then man city coach Roberto Mancini did every thing to sign him but d agent asking price was a barrier.
He will come out good and he is really a kid.

In these order
1) Musa yahaya
2) Musa muhammed
3)kelechi Iheanacho
4)Sucess Isaac
5)Idowu (our jersey no 4)
6)Nwakali

Lee Herds: I think this is worst set of U-17 in recent years. Of course they are winning with high goal margings,their game is totally amateurish,I'm afraid ....

At this level, they are still amateurs.

[/b]

Jona-The-Clown:
Someone called Theophilus Solomon is not in the team due to Naija politics...
Scoring 7 goals in 5 matches for Any Team is not a day job. He will makes it far ahead of these players. Infact Catania of Italy have already Signing him up. He is the future C. Ronaldo. Watching out for this Golden Words of Mine. Marks this date. 30th of October 2013 .
Jona-The-Clown Says So.
Signed

....Sent From My Android powered IPhone 5

The boy have a minor injury in camp. That was what the coach told Fifa.com a day to the commencement of the world cup as the reason why he was drop. I read some where he was the most inform striker in camp

nerodenero: Things are not always the way they seem.I wont be surprised if those with below performances end up becoming the biggest stars in future.Arguably,these dudes are the biggest prospects so far for Eaglets.With the right choice of club and regularly playing time,these four will come good for both club and country.Just hope they wont fizzle out when it matter most.

The present crop of under 17 team members are good players and would go far with the right mentoring and coaching. The team is a high goal scoring side and this is very good for the future of our football.

Before we get carried away, I feel this team will not win the competition. Forgive me if you feel I am not patriotic. Honestly, what we see are raw talents that are not being properly coached. I'm surprised that Emmanuel Amunike and Nduka Ugbade have not used their wealth of experience in bringing the boys up. (I'm not sure Manu the chief coach is a good coach. That's why I didn't mention him). The reason is that the team does not play with intelligence. Yes they move forward like a swam of bees but as soon as the opposition team makes a few changes, we get outwitted. Check all the games and what happens after the first half.

The boys only attack through the middle and I fear for them when they meet the Uruaguayans who are a more tactical side.

The boys are there but the coaching is a problem. Can you imagine that we don't have a good replacement for Isaac Promise?

Kanu, Oruma, Ojigwe and co were all old men when they played the under 17. There's no reason to compare them with the present crop of players. I however do not believe in the MRI scan thing. If Stanley Okoro who was 30 years old, the 27 years old captain, I've forgotten the name of that captain (we all know that Obuh enjoys using over aged players. That's why Abdul Jelili Ajagun will always be playing under 20 under Obuh).


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Chigozie Obasi

Austyn316:

The present crop of under 17 team members are good players and would go far with the right mentoring and coaching. The team is a high goal scoring side and this is very good for the future of our football.

Before we get carried away, I feel this team will not win the competition. Forgive me if you feel I am not patriotic. Honestly, what we see are raw talents that are not being properly coached. I'm surprised that Emmanuel Amunike and Nduka Ugbade have not used their wealth of experience in bringing the boys up. (I'm not sure Manu the chief coach is a good coach. That's why I didn't mention him). The reason is that the team does not play with intelligence. Yes they move forward like a swam of bees but as soon as the opposition team makes a few changes, we get outwitted. Check all the games and what happens after the first half.

The boys only attack through the middle and I fear for them when they meet the Uruaguayans who are a more tactical side.

The boys are there but the coaching is a problem. Can you imagine that we don't have a good replacement for Isaac Promise?

Kanu, Oruma, Ojigwe and co were all old men when they played the under 17. There's no reason to compare them with the present crop of players. I however do not believe in the MRI scan thing. If Stanley Okoro who was 30 years old, the 27 years old captain, I've forgotten the name of that captain (we all know that Obuh enjoys using over aged players. That's why Abdul Jelili Ajagun will always be playing under 20 under Obuh).


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I agree with you expecially that we might not win the cup. There first real test will be against Uruguay on saturday if we beat them then we migh win the cup.
NOTE: Uruguay beat us in the confederations cup,they also knocked us out of the under 20 world cup. CAN THEY DO A TRIPLE OVER US WITHIN 4 MONTH?

By my calculation any one who is 17 years should be in SS3. Pls which of these under 17 players are still in secondary school?

Lee Herds: I think this is worst set of U-17 in recent years. Of course they are winning with high goal margings,their game is totally amateurish,I'm afraid ....

So u expect 15-20yr olds to play better than d 30yr olds we used in d past??.
What are they before ??.Proffessionals ??.
They are truely amateurs that play better than proffesionals.
I prefer to have only 20 percent of ball possesion,let d opponents dominate but score goals and win 5-0,6-1 than to have 60 percent ball possesion and win 1-0, 2-0,draw 1-1 like our senior national team.
The thing about this team is that they are very precise and direct,they dont beat around the bush like d senior national team and other teams.Every attack leads to a goal or nearly lead to a goal.They score when they want to.

Amacaco: By my calculation any one who is 17 years should be in SS3. Pls which of these under 17 players are still in secondary school?

I heard some of them were in secondary schools preparing for WAEC/JAMB.I heard Obasi is in SS1.
And how many footballers do finish secondary school ??.Few.
Some of dese players would have dropped out of secondary school to play/chase full proffesional football.

Urine:

I saw Chrisantus play this weekend and he banged in 3 goals in the Spanish second division. He still has it, he just needs to move to a better league.

yeah, he is on 4 league goals for UD Las Palmas in d spanish secunda division. Keshi should try scouting him

Amacaco: By my calculation any one who is 17 years should be in SS3. Pls which of these under 17 players are still in secondary school?

I understand Obasi is in SS1.. I am sure many of them are in sec school.. Iheanacho was playing for the under 15s a few years ago. They are all from academies.

Amacaco: By my calculation any one who is 17 years should be in SS3. Pls which of these under 17 players are still in secondary school?

u go night school? When smart children are already in year 2 in the uni by 17, u are here calculating jazz. Recruitment age without experience don drop to 22 years oooooo!

Its a team and they are gud at their level but some must be more outstanding!

Iheanacho, yahaya, Nwakali,

Austyn316:

The present crop of under 17 team members are good players and would go far with the right mentoring and coaching. The team is a high goal scoring side and this is very good for the future of our football.

Before we get carried away, I feel this team will not win the competition. Forgive me if you feel I am not patriotic. Honestly, what we see are raw talents that are not being properly coached. I'm surprised that Emmanuel Amunike and Nduka Ugbade have not used their wealth of experience in bringing the boys up. (I'm not sure Manu the chief coach is a good coach. That's why I didn't mention him). The reason is that the team does not play with intelligence. Yes they move forward like a swam of bees but as soon as the opposition team makes a few changes, we get outwitted. Check all the games and what happens after the first half.

The boys only attack through the middle and I fear for them when they meet the Uruaguayans who are a more tactical side.

The boys are there but the coaching is a problem. Can you imagine that we don't have a good replacement for Isaac Promise?

Kanu, Oruma, Ojigwe and co were all old men when they played the under 17. There's no reason to compare them with the present crop of players. I however do not believe in the MRI scan thing. If Stanley Okoro who was 30 years old, the 27 years old captain, I've forgotten the name of that captain (we all know that Obuh enjoys using over aged players. That's why Abdul Jelili Ajagun will always be playing under 20 under Obuh).


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Their ability to score many goals comes from the freedom with which they play with. It is also responsible for their defensive naivety. It is not so easy to teach tactics. The most tactical team is sweden, you will find out that most of their players are already playing professionally. None of the Nigerian players is playing professionally. Most of their play is just pure instinct.

They played well in the second half against mexico and sweden.

Manu has done a good job in discovering these talents. It is not always about winning.

Odedoyin25: you call those men prospects? i'm sure they are older than the op self

These ones are really young compared to what we have been parading in the past years.

Austyn316:

The present crop of under 17 team members are good players and would go far with the right mentoring and coaching. The team is a high goal scoring side and this is very good for the future of our football.

Before we get carried away, I feel this team will not win the competition. Forgive me if you feel I am not patriotic. Honestly, what we see are raw talents that are not being properly coached. I'm surprised that Emmanuel Amunike and Nduka Ugbade have not used their wealth of experience in bringing the boys up. (I'm not sure Manu the chief coach is a good coach. That's why I didn't mention him). The reason is that the team does not play with intelligence. Yes they move forward like a swam of bees but as soon as the opposition team makes a few changes, we get outwitted. Check all the games and what happens after the first half.

The boys only attack through the middle and I fear for them when they meet the Uruaguayans who are a more tactical side.

The boys are there but the coaching is a problem. Can you imagine that we don't have a good replacement for Isaac Promise?

Kanu, Oruma, Ojigwe and co were all old men when they played the under 17. There's no reason to compare them with the present crop of players. I however do not believe in the MRI scan thing. If Stanley Okoro who was 30 years old, the 27 years old captain, I've forgotten the name of that captain (we all know that Obuh enjoys using over aged players. That's why Abdul Jelili Ajagun will always be playing under 20 under Obuh).


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Very True.But it would be hard for truely young players to play for 90minutes and keep up with d same pace and energy throughout without wearing out.
I love their method of scoring as many as 3-4goals early in d first half and score at least 1 in d 2nd half.
These early goals would have a mental effect on d opponent.It would reduce d mural of the opponent and it would be very hard 4 dem to find a way back in d game.
Kill d game as early as possible,then when u come back in d 2nd half,you wont have to stress urself dat much,conserve some energy 4 d next match.
And thats exactly what d boys have been doing.
However i agree TO AN EXTENT about attacking through d middle,they really have to use d wings more.
The two wingers iheanacho and yahayah are skillful players that can take on defenders,Musa mohammed is a fast beast on d wings.If they use it more they MIGHT do better.
But i ask myself dis question,if attackin through d middle has been producing 6goals,5goals,4goals per match then why change dat ??.
How often does d spanish national team attack through d wings ??.Their attacks are mostly thru d middle(tho not as one-sided),but they still succeed against any team.
We say uruguay are a more tactical side and would provide our 1st real test.Thats arguable.Becos from what i've watched so far,the Mexico team we flogged 6-1 are a more tactical side than d uruguayans.if u have been following d matches of both teams u'll agree with me.After watching mexico's next matches after we humiliated them,im still surprised we defeated them 6-1.
I believe if mexico had met uruguay,they would have trashed uruguay.
But still there are a lot of more important areas dat need 2 be improved.
They try silly goal attempts from impossible areas most times hence loosing possesion,especially Nwakali.
They need to work on their passings,most of their passes are sloppy and this is why d opponents always have more possesion.Because they dont keep d ball and pass well.
They need to improve in dis area.

I believe posters should be objective and know facts behind a story before coming out with categorical statements!

1) This set of Eaglets is a result of long term planning that started 3 years ago with the NFF assembling a National U-13 team.

2) Many of these guys have been together in different academies across the country since then. Some have gone out to play in Youth tournaments in SA, Europe and Asia over the years.

3) The coaches Manu, Amunike, Ugbade and Amadi started screening 2 years ago. Many of these guys had to take leaves of absence to go for school exams, in fact, most of them just wrote the last SSCE exams.

4) MRI tests were carried out at several stages and I can categorically say that up to 8 key players were dropped because they were on the borderline of the MRI results. Now the MRI is not an absolute test as even trialists like 16 year old Abuchi Obinwa, who was born and brought up in the USA failed the test.

5) We need to appreciate the work the coaches have put in the team even in the face of disqualification of so many key players. We have not seen such a free scoring Nigerian side since Japan 93 which we know was populated by relatively "older" and more experienced U-17s (lol).

6) I believe this team is a foundation for Nigerian domination of World football in the not too distant future! If they are well managed and nutured, with clubs that have a history of youth development taking most of them... then I can wager that Nigeria will win the World Cup in Qatar 2022 (8 years from now) all other things (like good administration/ adequate government backing) being equal

7) In addition to the more visible prospect, Success, Ihenacho, Yahaya, Mohammed (capt) I would like to point out the tireless workers in the team; the 2 central defenders Zaharadin Bello and Abubakar as well as pit-bull defensive midfielder Akinjide Idowu as massive prospects in this team.

I wish the team would win the cup but in-experience and youth exuberance might be critical factors. Notwithstanding, the boys are the future of Nigerian football irrespective of the outcome of this tournament.

9) Lastly, has anyone noticed that almost every part of Nigeria is represented in this team? And before folks shout federal character policy, everyone has acquitted themselves well showing they all deserved their places! It goes to show that Nigeria's diversity is a strength we should build on to become a world super power. Let us not allow politicians divide us, together we can make Nigeria take a place of pride in the comity of nations!

Thank you all.

Thanks Birikiti for that..

Iheanacho is a product of the u 13 programme..

I have to be honest, looking at these boys' faces, they look really young and i'm impressed... It shows that as a country, we value fairplay and we must commend the NFF for making sure that this time, they provided measures to prevent overage players from representing us.


Besides the ones OP mentioned, Awoniyi can be an outsider because he can hold up play. I read an article about him on FIFA.com and quite agreed with what was written about him.

kelechi Iheanacho's cool finish against Iran was sublime, a real prospect indeed. He looks like a finished article @ his tender age.

homesteady:

Awoniyi ke?? He is the Ideye of the team

he did enough to impress Asamoah Gyan in our last game against Iran. He got us a crucial goal against Sweden. He may not be an Isaac, Iheanacho or Yahaya, but he's good in his own way.