Nov. 1 (PREMIUM TIMES) -Former Super Eagles’ midfielder, Garba Lawal, has spoken glowingly about the Golden Eaglets’ good run in the 2013 African Under-17 qualifiers.

He said the team’s coach,  Manu Garba has proved critics wrong.

“You guys have been doing great and I’m particularly impressed with the standard so far shown by the players,” Mr. Lawal, an ex Super Eagle’s striker said.

Mr. Lawal who is Nigeria’s star performer at the 1998 World Cup where he scored a superlative goal in the 3-2 victory over Spain said he is happy with the players performance so far.

The erstwhile coordinator of the national Under-17 team commended the Golden Eaglets’ crew for grooming the young talented players.

He advised the team to be focussed as they approach the final qualifying matches against Mali.

“I think the critics would have seen by now that the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, meant well for our football with the calibre of players in the team and we can see that these players are about the youngest Under-17 team we have in recent years,”

He expressed confidence that the U-17 team will qualify for tournament in April and urged Nigerians to rally behind the youngsters.

“All eyes are now on the Golden Eaglets but I’m certain that they would qualify for the next tournament in Morocco and be amongst the contenders. I wish the team the best against Mali,” he added.

Nigeria failed to qualify for the last two editions of the African Under-17 Championship hosted by Algeria and Rwanda in 2009 and 2011 respectively.