Friendly match (Tuesday)

Congo 1-0 Junior Wasps

Friday

Congo vs Junior Wasps
 
RICHARD Tardy and his U-17 youngsters know that there is still work to be done ahead of next year’s Africa Junior Championship. The junior wasps failed to find the net as they lost 0-1 in the first of two friendlies against Congo Brazzaville in Point Noir.

The hosts’ goal came on the 43rd minute from the spot kick. However, reports from the junior wasps’ camp indicate that the team put in a good fight throughout the game.
"It was not a straight forward win for Congo Brazzaville. What we have to perfect now is taking away our chances because we did get a couple in this game,” one of Richard Tardy’s assistants noted.

The youngsters now hope to build on this performance when they take on the Congolese in the second and final friendly tomorrow.

The local football governing body, Ferwafa opted for Congo because it is a genuinely well balanced team. This was reflected when the Central Africans dismissed three-time world U-17 champions Nigeria in the qualifiers of next year’s event.

The Congolese picked four points in the two-legged contest after a 2-0 home win and a goalless draw in Kaduna. Congo now needs to eject Gabon in the second and final qualifying round (November 6) to seal their spot in the championship. Gabon reached the second round after eliminating Algeria.

From Congo, the team will jet back before proceeding to Tunisia for a three-week training camp. During the stint, the team will play several friendly games with some of Tunisia’s top youth sides including Tunisia’s U-17 national side. Tardy believes experience drawn from the just concluded Cecafa U-20 youth championships in Eritrea will come in handy for the youngsters. In Eritrea, the team managed a fourth place finish after losing 1-0 in a third place play-off against Kenya.

The Caf U-17 tournament will be jointly held in Kigali and Rubavu.

Ends