Awoniyi: We’ve what it takes to win U20 World Cup

How happy are you wining the Africa Youth Championship in Senegal?Well, we give God the glory for the victory and thanked him for the victory we got. We are very happy because we could not make it as Africa champions to the World Cup at our Under-17 level but today we are the champions in […]

How happy are you wining the Africa Youth Championship in Senegal?
Well, we give God the glory for the victory and thanked him for the victory we got. We are very happy because we could not make it as Africa champions to the World Cup at our Under-17 level but today we are the champions in the continent at the Under-20 and to me and all of us is a great feat.
We would be going to the World Cup proper with the mind set of repeating what we did at that level in the Under-17 and I believe by the grace of God we can achieve a good result as well.
In concrete terms, what should Nigerians expect from your team in the World Cup finals?
We have coaches who have built in us a winning mentality and that is what we are taking to the World Cup finals in New Zealand. We will play every match as if it is the final and by God’s grace we will come out victorious.
Would you say the Man of the Match Awards you won in Senegal spurred you to perform?
I will say it was good for me and it is a thing I will always remember. It keeps spurring me on to play more while on the pitch.
What will was your most important result in Senegal?
I will say the victory we got against Senegal in the finals because we were playing them for the second time in the competition but at the final stage, it was a different setting entirely because we know they were propelled to play us with the full support of their home crowd but knowing that it was not going to be as easy as the first game, we upped our game and I must confess we played the match as if it was a war and we give God the glory for the triumph which gave us the title.
You know in every tournament the group stages is a bit easier than the knock out stages and in this game both of us were seeing the cup and the minds of players were on lifting the cup.
We had promised Nigerians the title and we were ready to play for ourselves and also write our names in gold. That we have done and this has made Nigerians to be happy. For me this is the most valuable thing I got from Senegal.
Some of your team mates in the victorious U17 did not make it to Senegal. Did you miss them in the team?
I believe in the players in the squad that were in the championship in Senegal and they won the cup that is the most important thing but again if the players you talked about were here they could have impacted on the team. However, since they are not here we must give credit to ourselves for doing what we did for the nation and I pray they will be able to join us to prepare for the World Cup finals. It will create room for competition and afford the coaches to pick the best and lucky ones for the campaign. I added lucky because all of us are good.
Having been together for years now, how would describe the unity in the team?
We see ourselves as one family. Since our captain Musa Mohammed knows his role in the team as the head boy and we his team mates see him as our leader, we do not have any problem blending and binding as a unit off and on the pitch.
The bond is so unique that right from U17 we saw our skipper as the captain of our team as we progress to the next level.
Most Nigerians have proposed that some of you should be drafted to the Super Eagles. Would you say it is too early?
There are stages in life and as it goes you take it on. For me if the opportunity presents itself, I believe we can make it but one important thing is that the senior national team is a different ball game. It is a place where the best legs in the country are supposed to be and in such situation you need experience, ability and luck to book a place in the final squad. As we are now I believe if we continue as we are playing with time we can break in and take our positions.
Talking about you as an individual, are you ready to fight for a shirt in the Super Eagles?
I believe if I am given the opportunity at this age, I can do my best to justify my invitation. I am still in the U20 team and I know with time everything will fall in place.