PUNCH - Mikel
Obi and a former captain of the Super Eagles Austin ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha
have hailed the Brazil 2014 World Cup draw that has fixed Nigeria
against Ethiopia.
Mikel who missed the 2010 World Cup said he was very optimistic that Nigeria would qualify.
Okocha who described the fixture as
being very good for Nigeria however warned that the Super Eagles should
not take for granted that they are not fixed against any of the
countries known as heavyweights.
The former Bolton Wanderer midfielder who spoke with The PUNCH on the telephone on Monday said that no country in the final round of the qualifiers should be treated like minnows.
He said, “The Ethiopians didn’t get a
bye to qualify for this final stage; they worked hard to qualify. We
cannot, therefore, afford to take them for granted. We must put our acts
together to ensure that we beat them and qualify.
“It is very helpful that the Eagles are
playing first in Addis Ababa which is surely an advantage. But we must
then use every advantage to our benefit by preparing for the encounter
like a real World Cup game. We have no reason not to qualify.”
Okocha who featured in Nigeria’s first
World Cup finals in USA ’94 added that comparatively, Nigeria got the
best of the fixtures following the draw held in Egypt on Monday.
In their reaction to the draw Eagles led
by Mikel Obi have vowed to crush Ethiopia and qualify for the World
Cup. The Chelsea midfielder told MTNFootball.com it was a nice draw for the country.
He said, “It was a nice draw. Though I
am not afraid of any team, Ethiopia will get thrashed. I am not saying
they are not a good team but they are no match to us. We will give our
very best as individuals and as a team.”
CSKA Moscow forward Ahmed Musa said that they would give their best as usual to get the World Cup ticket.
“We couldn’t have asked for better
opponents. With all due respect to them, they will be beaten well in
both legs. We know what Nigerians expect and that is outright victory.
We won’t look down on them but we will prepare hard for them,” Musa
said.
Efe Ambrose said that Nigerians should not lose sleep over the opposition.
He said, “They are not a threat to us at
any point so they won’t be now, we will not underrate them. We will do
our best and see that we beat them.”
Nigeria will face Ethiopia with the
first leg in Addis Ababa between October 11-15, while the return leg in
Nigeria will be between November 15-19.
No comments:
Post a Comment