By Eddie Akalonu

Former national Under- 20 captain, Franklin Howard has charged the Golden Eaglets to beat Ivory Coast in today’s final of the youngest cup competition in Africa.

With their World Cup tickets already in hand, this could be battle of wits, ego and pride given that each side strives to give their all in any meeting no matter the category.

Speaking with our correspondent in Lagos, Howard, who also starred for the defunct Lagos ACB FC said “the players are capable, they have scored well in this competition and I would only urge them to go further and beat the opponent.

Eaglets vs Ivory Coast during the group matches

They have shown the capacity and determination that past generations of the team who won the cup in 1993 , 2005 and 2007 had, they have what it takes to win,” he said, adding “I would be expecting a challenging encounter between Africa’s best two in this level. However, I feel the odds favour our team, going by their team spirit.”

Though both teams  had battled  each other fiercely in the competition during the group round with the young Elephants running away with a 1-0 win, a wind of change had since set in, turning things around for the Eaglets after that meeting as they thrashed Tunisia  4-2 in the semi finals.

Although he refused to be drawn into making a prediction, Howard noted that the team he saw in the semi final was an improvement from earlier matches.

“The coaches made changes that redefined the team and my take is that they will ride high again because the winning aura lives in the players. They will come out the best,” he opined.