Accolades have gone out to the Super Eagles players, following their 2-0 victory over Cotton Sports FC of Cameroon on Friday.
Although some ardent Nigerian fans remain critical of why their national team should play an ‘ordinary’ club in a build-up match, the players got a pat on the back from their coach.
That much was revealed by the interim handler of the side, Augustine Eguavoen, who hailed his players for braving inclement weather in Garoua in order to win Friday’s game.
The gaffer, who enthused that the mentality, focus, and attitude he saw from his wards showed a high level of professionalism.
The AFCON ’94-winning squad’s assistant captain, who was head coach when the Eagles won bronze at Egypt 2016, further enthused that Friday’s performance is evocative of a resounding victory coming from their first match of the competition.
That will be versus seven-time winners, Egypt on Tuesday, and ‘Egu,’ who experimented with two different starting line-ups for Friday’s game, stressed that he was impressed with what he saw from the lads.
The first 11 had Emil Maduka Okoye, Ola Aina, Zaidu Sanusi, Wilfred Onyinyen Ndidi, William Troost-Ekong, Kenneth Omeruo, Chidera Ejuke, Ahmed Musa (scorer of the first goal), Taiwo Awoniyi, and Kelechi Iheanacho.
The second squad started with Francis Odinaka Uzoho, Silas Ndah, Zaidu Sanusi, Frank Ogochukwu Onyeka, Semi Ajayi, Chidozie Awaziem, Moses Simon, Alex Iwobi, Umar Sadiq, Kelechi Nwakali, and Samuel Chukwueze, who scored the second goal.
After the encounter, which was played at the venue where the Super Eagles tango Egypt on Tuesday (starting 5 pm Nigeria time), Eguavoen said he was satisfied with what he saw from his players, but admitted there is still room for improvement.
‘Cerezo,’ as he was fondly called during his playing days, submitted: “Winning this game is a very good thing for us.
“We struggled a little bit with the weather, but, in terms of ball possession and movement, I think we were very impressed.”
