Barely 30 minutes after a hard fought 3-2 win over Mali, the Minister of Youth and Sports, Barrister Solomon Dalong, put a call across to players and officials of the U-23 National Team, the Dream Team, urging them not to rest on their oars but go all out for the Olympic ticket.
The minister said no game is easy and the fact that they could withstand the pressure from the Malians goes to show that they possess the true fighting spirit of Nigerians.
Dalong said: “Let me assure you all that your efforts will not go unnoticed.
“All I ask of you is to relax, enjoy this moment, then concentrate on your next game.
“No game is easy, but from the much you have shown against Mali, I know you guys can make it.”
Dalong had before the game put a call across to the team, charging them not to let the nation proud.
Responding Coach Samson Siasia thanked the Youth and Sports Minister for finding time within his busy schedule to give the team a morale-boosting call, while assuring Dalong the team would not disappoint Nigerians.
Siasia called on all to support the team, saying that they have come this far and cannot afford to falter.
Meanwhile, Siasia has admitted that his team was lucky to have escaped with a 3-2 victory over West African rivals Mali in its first game at the ongoing U-23 Africa Cup of Nations played at the Caroline Fay Stadium, Mbour, Senegal.
Siasia then urged Nigerians to support the team, as they take on Egypt.
He said for him and his boys, it is one game at a time.