Nigeria's Odion Ighalo has added his voice of encouragement to the holders of the U17 World Cup, the Nigerian team, backing them to win in tonight's final.

 

The Golden Eaglets (as the Nigerian U17 is known) have qualified for a second straight final of the tournament having won it in the UAE in 2013 and the prospect of back-to-back wins remains very bright.

 

Ighalo, who plays for English Premier League side Watford said 'I watched the boys play in the semi final against Mexico and I believe they have what it takes to go on and win the final".

 

What adds spice to tonight's encounter is that it's an all-African final, with Mali also on a good run, reaching its first final in a major global competition. But the free scoring Watford man said this just will motivate the Eaglets more. "The fact that it is against African opposition will make it even more special, and I just can't see anything but an Eaglets triumph", he added.

 

Should Nigeria win today, the country will set the record for the highest number of times anyone has won the U17 World Cup trophy, with five victories. It will also break the jinx of the Nigerians never having won the competition outside of Asia. Their four previous titles were in tournaments hosted in Asia while this year's competition is in Chile.