Super Eagles head coach, Austine Eguavoen, confirms that Nigeria’s upcoming Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier against Benin Republic will be a tough encounter.
However, the interim coach is confident his team is ready to fight and secure the crucial qualification ticket, regardless of the strength of the opposition team.
“The game against the Cheetahs of Benin Republic would not be an easy game, but I believe my team is ready to fight and earn the AFCON ticket sooner rather than later.”
In his comments, Eguavoenspoke about Gernot Rohr, the former Super Eagles head coach. He described Rohr as a very experienced and capable coach, one who understands both the Nigerian team and its players well.
“Gernot Rohr is a good coach who knows the Nigerian team and the Nigerian team also knows what he is capable of, and it will be a fight for the points.”
“With what we’ve been around for so many years, he was our head coach. Very good coach, no doubt. He knows us in and out.”
“He’s part of us and we know him also inside out. We know what he’s capable of but you know Nigeria is a country, you don’t know it. We respect, we play.”
Eguavoen made it clear that Nigeria’s mentality going into the match would be one of determination and a will to win.
“Nigeria is a side that is always looking to win and would play to win.”
“The mindset when we come into games is to win but it’s easier said than done. We fight for every ball. We fight for every point and that’s what we want to do.”
“In respect to that, Benin Republic is not a pushover but we will work hard to make sure we achieve our objective.”
The AFCON qualifier clash is set to be a hard-fought contest as both teams battle for crucial points in the race to qualify for the next AFCON tournament. Super Eagles of Nigeria needs just a point to qualify for the 2025 AFCON.
It will take place at on Thursday (today) at Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan by 20:00 GMT.
