Having secured qualification right at the death in the ongoing FIFA U-20 Championship here in Turkey, the team is leaving no stone unturned as they intensify their training ahead of the game against Group B winners Portugal.
The Black Satellites who sat on thorns throughout the final round of group matches with qualification almost a mirage know that a loss to the European side would give the side no other opportunity to redeem themselves like it happened in the group phase.
In the aftermath of the sides scrapping through to the Round of 16, Sellas Tetteh took the lads through their paces at the SGS training facility as well as practicing some shooting exercises. Goal scoring has been a bane for the side as they have been profligate on goal and the manager is leaving nothing to chance in the knock out zone.
“We created a lot of goal scoring opportunities in all our group games, but conspired to blow them away. This is the knock out phase of the competition and we would have to take every chance that comes our way.
The manager is also keeping his tabs on the defence that conceded an average of 1.66 goals against the French, the Spaniards and the Americans against a Portuguese side that scored a total of 10 goals in the three games they played against Nigeria, Korea and Cuba.
He added: “We have conceded a goal in all the games we have played so far and that is not good enough. We need to work extremely hard to contain the marauding Portuguese strike force. Failure to do so will cause us a lot of problems and as you can see I am leaving nothing to chance in that regard.”
The Satellites are up against the Portuguese in the Round of 16 on Wednesday at the Kadir Has Stadium in Kayseri. Kick-off is scheduled for 15:00 GMT.
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