Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr declared yesterday that today’s Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifier against the Blue Sharks of Cape Verde would be ‘total war.’
Nigeria tops Group C with 12 points, while Cape Verde is second with 10 points.
Rohr, already, has instructed the players to go all out against the Sharks today at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos.
He said the Eagles need to redeem their image that was battered by the Central African Republic CAR in Lagos.
Speaking in a pre-match press conference yesterday at the Eko Hotel camp of the Super Eagles, Rohr said the Cape Verdeans are hungry and desperate for a win in order to qualify for the play-off. The Super Eagles need just a draw to advance.
“They have a good team, with more strengths than weaknesses. They are good offensively, good individual quality, and their three central defenders defend deep,” Rohr said. “But the pressure is on them.”
Recalling the lessons learnt in the encounter against CAR in Lagos, where the Super Eagles were booed by the Lagos crowd, Rohr said: “We won’t take it easy with Cape Verde because we are hungry to mend fences with the Lagos fans. We are eager to prove to them that we can do it. We have to be strong mentally, and we have the players who can score, make assists and defend well. We know we can do it.”
Also speaking yesterday, Super Eagles team captain, Ahmed Musa, assured that they would come out tops against Sharks in today’s World Cup qualifier. “We all know the importance of the match. It is a match we must win if we are to be at the World Cup. Everybody in the team wants to go to the World Cup, some for the first time and that is our motivation,” Musa said.
“I always talk to my teammates. I tell them we all are playing for Nigeria, for ourselves and for our families. Going to the World Cup is the dream of every football player, and this is an opportunity before us. We can’t toy with it,” Musa stated.
Meanwhile, former Super Eagles coach, Christian Chukwu, has advised the team to be focused in today’s game.
Chukwu stated that Nigeria has quality players that can outshine Cape Verde if the Eagles approach the game with 100 per cent commitment.
