Friday, March 29, 2024

I’m optimistic Eagles’ll be in Russia – Onigbinde

As Nigeria’s Super Eagles prepare to file out against the Chipolopolo of Zambia on Sunday in the 2018 World Cup qualifier in Ndola, former national team handler, Chief Adegboyega Onigbinde, is optimistic that the team would pick the mundial ticket at the end of the qualifiers.
Nigeria is in same group with former Nations’ Cup winners like Algeria, Cameroon and Zambia.
The former General Manager of Shooting Stars Supporters Football Club of Ibadan believed that nothing will prevent Nigeria from qualifying for the World Cup.
“As a patriotic Nigerian, I am absolutely sure this present team will make it to the World Cup. They have everything to give them the victory. Although, I am not their coach, I think the new Technical Adviser knows what to do with the calibre of players he has invited for the match. The coach is experienced and he would definitely deliver. The match in Ndola is not going to be easy, because the home team is also prepared to win. They will not just sit down and allow our boys to do the magic. I think it is going to be tough and I expect our boys to prove themselves,” he said.
Eagles’ coach, Gernot Rohr, who arrived Nigeria recently with his foreign assistants, has been working round the clock to get the best result in Sunday’s match. He has been building on the players he featured against Tanzania in the Nations’ Cup qualifier in Uyo, Akwa Ibom Stateto achieve the impossible.
“We have the players, but the team needs to do more. The players need to rise up to the ocassion. If they are dedicated and determined, the Zambians can never stop them from achieving their aims and aspirations,” he said.
The Zambia team is made up of young and promising players who have been together for a long time. The team was managed by different coaches before the country’s football authorities later employed a new coach to prepare the team ahead of Sunday’s cracker.
The Zambians have been studying the tapes of the Nigerian team, but they would be shocked to see a different team in Ndola.
“As a coach I did not need to tell Rohr what to do, but as a Nigerian, we always have the hope and love for our country. I want Nigeria to qualify for the World Cup and I know those at the helm of football affairs in the country are serious about it and I think that was why they hired Rohr in the first instance; and the players are also hungry to represent their fatherland at the World Cup. It is the dream of every player to play at the highest level of their career and I know that their commitment would help them,” he said.

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