Nigeria coach Ladan Bosso has set his sights on clinching the bronze medal of the TotalEnergies U-20 Africa Cup of Nations Egypt 2023.
The Flying Eagles will face Tunisia in the third place match on Friday at the Cairo International Stadium at 16:00 local time (14:00 GMT).
Nigeria lost 1-0 in the semi-finals to The Gambia at the Cairo International Stadium on Monday night.
Steve Biko forward Adama Bojang scored the lone goal to send the Young Scorpions to their first ever TotalEnergies U-20 AFCON final.
“It was unfortunate we lost the semifinals and now we will play the third place match,” Bosso told journalists at his pre-match press conference.
“The third place is as good as the final. We believe if we get it right we will take something home and I believe we can put smiles on the faces of football loving Nigerians.
“Nevertheless it is always believed that second best is not good enough but we have to fight for third place.”
The record champions of the tournament have secured qualification to the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Indonesia later this year alongside The Gambia, Senegal and Tunisia.
“The most important thing is the target given to us was to first qualify the team to the World Cup which we achieved,” said Bosso.
“We wanted to get something additional but fortunately we didn’t get it right.
“We had our mistakes but I understand the feelings of some sections of Nigerians will not be comfortable with it.
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“We lost to The Gambia not that they were better than us because we should have sealed that game in the beginning.
“Nevertheless the way we prepared for the Gambian team is the same way we will prepare for Tunisia with some adjustments to get the win,” he added.
Abel Ogwuche was named the Man of the Match in the quarter-final victory over Uganda in Ismailia and he reiterated that the Flying Eagles will be playing to secure a podium finish.
“We are a hundred percent prepared to take something back to Nigeria. We lost the last game but in football there can only be three outcomes,” Abel said.
“Tomorrow we will be coming out to win the game and take something back home and put a smile to our fans back home.
“This tournament is a great opportunity for us the players to be seen and showcase our talent and we will do our best.”