The
Super Eagles have ruled out any form of surprise from the visiting
Flames of Malawi as both sides prepare for the crucial 2014 World Cup
qualifier holding in Calabar on Saturday.
Nigeria need only a draw to advance to
the knock-out stage of the qualifying series, while Malawi must get
maximum points from the encounter to progress in the competition.
While Malawi coach, Tom Saintfiet, had
several times assured his employers that they will win the game,
promising to shock the Super Eagles on their turf at the U.J. Esuene
Stadium, the Nigeria players on Thursday dismissed any such threat from
the Belgian.
Chelsea midfielder, Mikel Obi, said the
Eagles had grown beyond falling to new tricks in the game, insisting
that they were prepared for the encounter.
“We have a very good coach who
understands the team; everything has worked out fine for Nigeria since
(Stephen) Keshi took and I’m positive Saturday’s game will not be
different,” Mikel said.
“We don’t underrate any team, that’ll be unprofessional, but I don’t think there’s any new trick (from them) we can’t handle.”
Mikel added that he is at his best
playing for Nigeria, admitting that he had to step up his game after the
fans were critical of him.
He said, “The fans were a bit hard on
me, but understand (their feelings) because it was because of the love
they had for me. They want me to play better, and now I’m playing better
than before.”
Oduamadi, who only arrived in Calabar on
Thursday after a flight glitch, said the team were aware of the
desperation in the Malawian team and would be prepared for the
unexpected.
“It’s always good to expect surprises
especially when it comes to crucial games. But we’ve played several
games against very strong sides so we know we have an idea of what to
expect on Saturday,” Oduamadi said.
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