Nigeria Are Scared Of Nobody!

CelticKing · Oct 21, 2008

Nigeria Are Scared Of Nobody!

Nigeria are looking forward with confidence to Wednesday’s draw that will reveal the final round of qualification for the 2010 World Cup. The Super Eagles are afraid of nobody...

The Eagles finished the second round of the qualification, which also serves for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations in Angola, as the only team that did not drop a point.

They also only conceded a goal after six matches.

“There is no doubt about it that the next round of the competition will be tougher but we have the quality and the pedigree to qualify for the World Cup,” said Monaco midfielder Sani Kaita, who was recalled to the Eagles after a five-star display at the Beijing Olympics in August.

“There are no longer small teams and as such we cannot make the mistake of underrating any team. We will go into all our games, home and away, with the aim of picking up three points, just as we did in the previous round. That way we do not have to depend on any team,” added CSKA Moscow defender Chidi Odiah.

“It’s a bit of an advantage that we have been seeded and as such will not be clashing with teams like Egypt and Cameroon but at the same time, we need to work a lot more if we are to be in South Africa two years from now.”

Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup in Germany after they were ousted by unfancied Angola. They also crashed out at the quarter-finals of the 2008 Nations Cup in Ghana leading to the resignation of German coach Berti Vogts.

“The last board (of the Nigeria Football Federation) did not return to office because we did not qualify for the 2006 World Cup in Germany,” said NFF Technical Committee Chairman, Taiwo Ogunjobi.

“And now the mere fact that the next World Cup will be played in Africa, means we have no excuse for not qualifying.” He added:

“Our winning run in the qualifiers is to regain the confidence of Nigerians after what happened in Ghana. We needed to win back the people’s confidence and that was why we did not take any chances with any of our matches.”

The media have often accused the country’s platoon of overseas-based stars of not showing enough commitment to the cause of the national team.

However, Eagles assistant coach Daniel Amokachi said the players have since rededicated themselves for the task ahead.

“The players are a lot more committed and more professional now. They have put behind them what happened in Ghana and are ready to make it all the way to the World Cup,” said Amokachi, who in his playing days featured at the 1994 and 1998 World Cups and was known for his full-hearted drive in an Eagles shirt.

"We have enjoyed tremendous support from the fans and all the players know what is at stake.”

The Eagles are one of five top seeds for the draw in Zurich on Wednesday.

The other seeds are African champions Egypt, Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Ghana.

The 20 qualifiers will be drawn into groups of four teams each with the overall group winners qualifying for the World Cup along with host nation South Africa.

The top three teams in each group will also join hosts Angola for the 2010 Nations Cup.
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Claud · Oct 21, 2008

They have some good players indeed.. hopefully they make it to the WC.

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Nigeria Are Scared Of Nobody!

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