Super Eagles coach, Austin Eguavoen has expressed confidence in the ability of his team to defeat Sudan in their match today in the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
Nigeria’s 1-0 defeat of Egypt put them on top of Group D with three points, while Sudan’s Jediane Falcons have one point from a goalless draw with Guinea-Bissau.
A win in Garoua today will guarantee the Super Eagles passage to the round of 16.
Speaking during the team’s press conference yesterday, Eguavoen said, “I am happy with the players and their ability to give their best on the pitch. I am focused on winning against Sudan at the moment. I am not thinking about anything else or how we will start our third match.
“We are completely focused on our match against Sudan. Beating Egypt was not easy, and we are looking forward to continuing our victories and qualifying for the next round.”
Moses Simon, who was Nigeria’s top star in the game against Egypt, is happy to shoulder the task of providing the ammunition for his strikers from the left flank.
Acknowledging the responsibility Eguavoen has bestowed on him, Simon said: “The way I play has changed and now the coach is giving me more attacking freedom. We hope to achieve a good result against Sudan to ensure qualification.
“Our focus is to get the victory, which is important to us. We won’t allow Sudan to spoil our fun.”
While Nigeria are looking forward to a successful outing today, Sudan also have their own ambition, which is to qualify for the next round of the competition. To do that, they must avoid defeat today.
In fact, Sudan’s coach, Burhan Tiya, believes his side have a 50-50 chance of beating the Super Eagles.
Tia, who took over the team from Frenchman, Hubert Velud, who was sacked early last month, said although his team is young, they are hungry and have a huge desire to perform, especially in ‘this big match’ against Super Eagles.
“We play with a great team with high-level stars, but we will play with a balance between defense and attack. The absence of Mohamed Abdel Rahman is impressive, but we have a number of young players waiting for an opportunity to appear,” Tiya said.
Team Captain, Mohammed Yasin, also believes they will shock Nigeria this evening.
“We have a young squad, but our target is to shock the Super Eagles despite the fact that Nigeria parades a team loaded with top stars,” he said.
