Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets look to move to the quarter-final of the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as they clash with South Africa, Saturday.

The Nigerians are on a knife’s edge, having lost 1-0 to Morocco in their second game after an impressive win in the opener against Zambia. They now rank second in the group, same as South Africa but have an edge on goals scored.

It is rekoned that Coach Nduka Ugbade has the pedigree to see the Nigerian side through. Ugbade has played as an attacking midfielder in all age grades of the national team and has done tutelage under renowned handlers.

Some pundits say the loss to Morocco was not altogether surprising. The Morocans are regarded as among the most tactically efficient in African foorball. This reflected in the game against the Golden Eaglets who played all the football while the Moroccans did the scoring.

Pundits say Ugbade’s game plan will likely be to go for early goals and play a robust midfield and spread wide at the wings to allow for possession play and explore and exploit defensive weaknesses in the opposing team. The essence of the strategy is that the more you hold on to the ball, the less chances your opponents have of scoring.

Said Ugbade of the game against Morocco: “We controlled the game but tactically Morocco controlled the outcome. “We had some few mistakes as well but we created so many chances, and the only problem is that we couldn’t score.”

Now second on the log with three points, the Nigerians take on South Africa’s Amajimbos in their last group game on Saturday.

A draw would suffice for Nigeria to move to the next round but Ugbade is not resting on his oars.

“We are prepared for this,” he said in a pre-match conference on Friday, adding that “we have a chance” against the South Africans.

He says he will correct the errors against Morocco and “ensure we are more efficient in front of goal”.

Analysts say the South Africans tend to warm into the game a bit slowly while the Nigerians have brief spells of loss of concentration.

Intel reports indicate that both sides have studied each others’ match videos in detail and made notes and strategic plans.

The South Africans need to avoid defeat to make the next stage of the competition. Even with a defeat, just like Nigeria, they could make it to the quarter-final as one of the best losers.

They are on three points having wone a game and lost one.