Eguavoen expects Nigeria not to lose steam

by Staff Reporter

Saturday Jan 15, 2022. 09:00

Super Eagles coach Augustine Eguavoen says there is no such thing as a perfect machine but they will do what needs to be done against what is expected to be a very motivated Sudan on  Saturday.

Nigeria head into their penultimate Group D match on a high following a convincing 1-0 victory over record seven-time AFCON champions Egypt on January 11.

Eguavoen said he is aware that everyone expects them to maintain the same momentum but they are also managing the external pressures that come with such expectations.

“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,” Eguavoen said at Friday’s pre-match briefing.

“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.

“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.”

Victory on Saturday would send the three-time champions through to the last 16 but Eguavoen knows they must be ready to earn their passage the hard way.

“Every game comes with a different plan. Sudan is not a pushover and more so they are on 1 point and we have 3 points and we want to consolidate on that,” Eguavoen said.

2021 AFCON GROUP STANDINGS

“They will also be pushing hard so that they can also have a chance to qualify.

“We have discussed with the backroom staff and the entire team so that on Saturday we will maybe use different tactics or maybe use the same.

“They (Sudan) will also have a few players in attack who are fast, but not as fast as Mo Salah, but tomorrow they are playing against Nigeria so we expect them to raise their game as well so we will respond well.”