Nigeria's Golden Eaglets are once again racing against time to field a team for a successful defence of the WAFU B U17 championship after more than half of the first team failed the mandatory MRI age test.

This comes as Nigeria has only until Monday to submit a final squad list to the organisers.

"It's a complete disaster!" lamented a top official.

"First, we did not start the training camp in good time, and as is often the case, the majority of the first-choice players have now been knocked out after they failed the MRI test."

Coach Manu Garba was reappointed late to his former post, and he is now under even more pressure to line up a team that will qualify for the U17 AFCON tournament from the WAFU B qualifying series in Ghana, starting on May 15.

The five-time world champions are drawn in Group B alongside Burkina Faso, Togo, and the Niger Republic.

Two years ago, Nduka Ugbade led the country to win the sub-regional tournament, only to fail to qualify for the U17 World Cup.