January 15, (THEWILL) – Augustine Eguavoen, caretaker coach of the Super Eagles, has shared his belief that there is no such thing as a perfect machine, even though he was confident that the Nigerian team would do everything it takes to beat Sudan on Saturday at the TotalEnergies 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.
THEWILL recalls that Nigeria goes into that penultimate Group D tie off of a 1-0 triumph against Egypt, the seven-time AFCON champions, in their initial encounter on January 11.
Eguavoen acknowledged that everyone now expects the Super Eagles to keep up the same pace, but he added that they are also dealing with the external pressures that come with such expectations.
Speaking pre-match, Eguavoen was cautiously optimistic of a good result: “We are not losing guard now, we know it has happened before and that is what we are trying to protect against and the boys know that because any slip, it is not going to be good.
“So we are going to remain focused, talk to ourselves and stay with two feet on the ground and keep our eyes on our target.”
The coach did not entertain any thought of a drop in energy levels: “So talking about losing steam, I don’t think so. We don’t expect every game to go smoothly but we will only try to win, game after game.”
The three-time AFCON champions would pave the way to the last 16 with victory on Saturday, but Eguavoen knows they will have to earn it the hard way.
A win will make it the first time a Super Eagles team will win their first two fixtures in the continental competition and the Eguavoen-led boys are ready to make history. The match kickoffs at 5 pm local time at the Stade Omnisport Roumdé Adjia, Garoua.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
