Abu Dhabi: Nigeria have really proved that the ‘winner takes it all’ at the Fifa Under-17 World Cup. Not only did the Golden Eaglets win the title for a record fourth time on Friday, breaking the record for goals scored in one tournament with 26 in seven matches along the way, but they also bagged the fair play trophy and the Golden Glove and Golden Ball awards.
Nigeria keeper Dele Alampasu and forward Keleshi Aheanacho respectively won the honours, which were handed out after they beat Mexico 3-0 in the final in Abu Dhabi.
Head coach Manu Garba said: “I am so happy for my players and for my country. We did everything right.
“We wanted to score an early goal and the players did just that, which put them on the right path to victory and from there they never looked back. They really are some good players and I do believe they will have a very bright future.
“This victory is the result of teamwork. Scoring goals depends upon players who score, others who create and others who defend. I have to say that my players, all of them, have shown the world their true worth and have deserved to win the trophy because simply they were the best in the tournament.”
Nigeria’s tournament triumph added to their previous successes in 1985, 1993 and 2007 — and all four of their victories have something in common.
“We always win in Asia,” Garba said. “We won our first title in China, our second in Japan, our third in South Korea and now we won the fourth in the UAE.
“For us, this tournament in the UAE is the best, judging by the quality of the teams participating, by the number of goals scored, whether by us or by the other teams, and by the support we found from the spectators.”
Garba hand-picked the players that made up the winning squad from grassroots academies around Nigeria but now, after leading them to glory, will see them move on and he will have to build a new squad.
“You should know that some very talented players from this team do not play for any club but they are members from football academies established by the Nigerian FA,” he said. “And here I praise the work of the people who supervise the development of these players, whom I am sure will find their way quickly to famous clubs inside and outside our country very soon.
“I will give these players to the coach of the youth team back home and will start looking for a new team of younger players, but I will really miss working with these players because they have been a unique generation.
“I have always said, since arriving in the UAE, that my dream is to hoist the World Cup. Now that has been achieved, I am on my way to a new team and a new dream.”
