Pius Ayinor
The Super Eagles have spoken hopefully
on their chances of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. It has
been a huge debate since Friday when the World Cup draw held in Cairo
lumped Nigeria with Cameroon, Algeria and Zambia.
Eagles midfielder Ogenyi Onazi said, “This is not a bad draw. I believe the Super Eagles are equal to the task.
“All we need to do now is to start
planning from this very moment. We have to get our coach in place and
give him, whether white or black, a very conducive environment to work. I
am confident that by the grace of God we will qualify. Every match must
be taken as a matter of life and death.”
His teammate Leon Balogun who plays in Germany is also not panicky.
“Far from easy, but it’s the hard road that leads to success. Let’s take this opportunity and earn our spot,” Balogun tweeted.
William Troost-Ekong said, “I think it’s
a tough draw, but I never imagined we were going to get any easy
opponents on the way to 2018 World Cup. I believe that we can do it..”
Brown Ideye has not been left out of the talk.
“At this stage of football, tough groups
like the type we have found ourselves are to be expected. To get to the
World Cup, we cannot cut corners or relax or take things for granted.
Now, we have to be prepared to work hard,” he said.
Ahmed Musa who had a short-lived tenure
as the team captain said, “This is a very good group. All I will say for
now is that we will do our best to qualify.”
As the Eagles talk tough, one of their opponents Algeria have appointed former Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac as their new coach.
Rajevac coached Ghana’s national team, guiding them to within a penalty kick of the 2010 World Cup semi-finals in South Africa.
The Algerian Federation confirmed
Rajevac had signed a contract on Sunday with the challenge handed him to
qualify the country for Russia 2018.
The Federation also stated he would be in Algeria in mid-July, when he is set to be officially introduced to the world’s press
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