After settling for third place at the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), Flying Eagles captain Daniel Bameyi has spoken out for the first time, expressing heartfelt gratitude to Nigerians and promising a stronger outing at the upcoming FIFA U-20 World Cup.
In chat with Brila.net, Bameyi said securing the World Cup ticket is a big feat for the team despite the shortcoming of their failed AFCON title push.
“We Thank God. The main objective of this tournament was to come and get a ticket for the World Cup,” the captain stated.
“And after getting the ticket, nobody said it’s a bad thing for me to also be crowned champion of this tournament.”
“But first things first was to get the qualification. And we thank God Almighty we got it. We give God the glory,” he added.
The defender admitted that while a bronze medal finish fell short of their expectations, the experience has fueled the Flying Eagles’ determination to succeed on the global stage.
“There’s a lot of work to be done, because we are going for the World Cup,” he said.
“It’s not everything — we want to come with our best of the best. We also want to come to the tournament with the best of our best.”
He also expressed confidence in the team and insists they will focus on improving their shortcomings before the World Cup.
“And there’s always room for improvement. We’ll keep improving and we’ll see how it goes. We’ll give God the glory for everything we went through,” he noted.
Reflecting on the entire AFCON journey, Bameyi appreciated the support from fans at home and abroad.
“Overall it was a wonderful experience. We thank God for everything, from the support from Nigerians all over.”
“And Nigerians here too. So it was a great tournament for us. And we’ll give God the glory for that.”
Nigeria will be aiming for a record-extending performance when the World Cup kicks off, having previously reached the final twice in 1989 and 2005.
