Nigeria coach, Stephen Keshi, has great
confidence the Super Eagles can qualify for the second round of Brazil
2014 World Cup, saying his players are not scared of any team.
The African champions were drawn into Group F alongside South American giants Argentina, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iran.
The Eagles open their World Cup campaign
against Iran in Curitiba on Monday and Keshi insists his side are ready
for the Princes of Persia.
Speaking in an interview with Team Nigeria, Keshi said the team would also focus on other matches.
The former Nigeria captain said, “There
would have been no reason to take part in the qualifying series if we
didn’t believe we would make it to the final, and there would have been
no reason to prepare so hard for the tournament if we knew we were only
coming to Brazil to make up the number.
“I have a group of players who believe
in themselves. They want to go as far as they can in Brazil, and the
formula we will employ is to look at what is immediately in front of us
and focus and plan on how to tackle it.”
The 52 –year old, who played in the 1994
World Cup in the United States, said the Eagles would not underestimate
the Iranians, saying they would not repeat the mistakes they made in
the 1998 World Cup in France, where the players underrated Denmark in
their Round of 16 clash.
Keshi said, “The situation was
unfortunate. That is why you must always focus on your immediate
challenge. We definitely lost to inexperience in 1994. Here in Brazil,
we have a mixture of youth and experience. We are ready to fly.”
No comments
Post a Comment