Former Super Eagles’ coach, Christian Chukwu, has charged the
home-based Eagles to take their second leg African Nations Championship
(CHAN) qualifier against Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire serious to enable
them book their first CHAN tournament ticket. Chukwu warned the team not
to expect a warm reception in Abidjan.
The Coach Stephen Keshi led Super Eagles on July 6 defeated their Ivorian counterparts 4-1 in the first leg decided at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna and will be hosted by the West African neighbours in Abidjan on July, 27 to decide who amongst them will qualify for the competition for national teams made up of home-based players billed for next year in South Africa.
Nigeria has never qualified for the competition; Eagles lost out to Ghana in the race to the inaugural edition in Cote d’Ivoire in 2009 and then faltered against Niger Republic in the qualifying series for the second edition in Sudan in 2011.
But the team stands a good chance of qualifying for next year’s championship if they can maintain their four goal lead against Cote d’Ivoire in the second leg.
In a telephone interview with Saturday Mirror, Chukwu noted that although the Eagles won the first leg convincingly, the return leg in Abidjan would be very difficult considering that the Ivoirians will put in everything to ensure they cancel the goals and deny Nigeria a chance of qualifying for the championship.
“I want the Super Eagles to take the second leg of the qualifiers serious because they are going to face a serious opposition in Abidjan considering the soccer rivalry between the two West African countries. “It is true that the Super Eagles scored many goals in the first leg but the Elephants are capable of cancelling the goals.
The team must maintain their four goal lead and avoid any type of complacency at the second leg,” he said. The former Green Eagles’ captain added, “They should also understand that their opponents having collected two red cards in the first leg will employ a lot of antics to make them commit serious fouls; warning that they should guide against such.
While commending Coach Keshi for assembling good home- based players to prosecute the CHAN qualifier, the former Harambee Stars of Kenya gaffer advised Eagles to avoid missing scoring chances as was witnessed at the last FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil which prevented them from progressing beyond the group stage of the competition.
“Keshi must be applauded for assembling the best players in our local league to prosecute the CHAN qualifiers, but he must work on his strikers to enable them avoid the mistakes they made in Brazil, where they missed a lot of glaring scoring chances.
“There is also the need for him to work on the midfield because when the midfield is not strong, it will affect the entire game plan of a team.”
According to Chukwu, as Nigeria seeks their first CHAN tournament ticket, the players must improve on their game and take the match as if they did not win the first leg.
“I want the Eagles to go into the match believing they did not score any goal in the first leg, since that is the only way they can play to their full potential.
“In doing this, they should also remember that the Ivoirians are still looking for revenge after their shocking 1-2 quarterfinal defeat to the Super Eagles at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations and as such any type of complacency on the part of the team could be dangerous,” he warned.
He, however, expressed optimism over the ability of the Eagles to triumph in Abidjan despite all odds, saying they must play their normal game and avoid pressure.
The Coach Stephen Keshi led Super Eagles on July 6 defeated their Ivorian counterparts 4-1 in the first leg decided at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna and will be hosted by the West African neighbours in Abidjan on July, 27 to decide who amongst them will qualify for the competition for national teams made up of home-based players billed for next year in South Africa.
Nigeria has never qualified for the competition; Eagles lost out to Ghana in the race to the inaugural edition in Cote d’Ivoire in 2009 and then faltered against Niger Republic in the qualifying series for the second edition in Sudan in 2011.
But the team stands a good chance of qualifying for next year’s championship if they can maintain their four goal lead against Cote d’Ivoire in the second leg.
In a telephone interview with Saturday Mirror, Chukwu noted that although the Eagles won the first leg convincingly, the return leg in Abidjan would be very difficult considering that the Ivoirians will put in everything to ensure they cancel the goals and deny Nigeria a chance of qualifying for the championship.
“I want the Super Eagles to take the second leg of the qualifiers serious because they are going to face a serious opposition in Abidjan considering the soccer rivalry between the two West African countries. “It is true that the Super Eagles scored many goals in the first leg but the Elephants are capable of cancelling the goals.
The team must maintain their four goal lead and avoid any type of complacency at the second leg,” he said. The former Green Eagles’ captain added, “They should also understand that their opponents having collected two red cards in the first leg will employ a lot of antics to make them commit serious fouls; warning that they should guide against such.
While commending Coach Keshi for assembling good home- based players to prosecute the CHAN qualifier, the former Harambee Stars of Kenya gaffer advised Eagles to avoid missing scoring chances as was witnessed at the last FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil which prevented them from progressing beyond the group stage of the competition.
“Keshi must be applauded for assembling the best players in our local league to prosecute the CHAN qualifiers, but he must work on his strikers to enable them avoid the mistakes they made in Brazil, where they missed a lot of glaring scoring chances.
“There is also the need for him to work on the midfield because when the midfield is not strong, it will affect the entire game plan of a team.”
According to Chukwu, as Nigeria seeks their first CHAN tournament ticket, the players must improve on their game and take the match as if they did not win the first leg.
“I want the Eagles to go into the match believing they did not score any goal in the first leg, since that is the only way they can play to their full potential.
“In doing this, they should also remember that the Ivoirians are still looking for revenge after their shocking 1-2 quarterfinal defeat to the Super Eagles at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations and as such any type of complacency on the part of the team could be dangerous,” he warned.
He, however, expressed optimism over the ability of the Eagles to triumph in Abidjan despite all odds, saying they must play their normal game and avoid pressure.
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