Special report:   2008 Olympic Games 

    LAGOS, March 20 (Xinhua) -- The Nigeria Football Association (NFA) has tasked the country's men's Olympic football team, the U-23 Eagles, to follow the footsteps of the Super Falcons and qualify for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

    The Falcons last weekend defeated West African rivals, the Black Queens of Ghana, 2-0 to book a place in the 2008 multi-sports fiesta.

    The U-23 national team, also known as Dream Team IV, will square up against its South African counterpart, Amaglu-glug, next Wednesday at the Abuja National Stadium.

    The assistant coach, Henry Nwosu, has reiterated the team's preparedness to successfully wrestle the all-important ticket from the South African boys. The ex-international, who was part of the victorious Green Eagles team to the 1980 Nations Cup, described the encounter as "a serious match we must go out and win."

    Nwosu assured that since it was the wish of Nigerians that the team goes to Beijing, "we must go out and win because many eyes are on us now. Nigerians want to see us in Beijing and we will not disappoint," he said.

    Though the South Africans have nothing other than national pride at stake in the encounter, Nwosu stressed that the team would never be underrated, adding that he was aware that the match would be tough.