Former Green Eagles wing forward Felix Owolabi on Wednesday in Lagos warned that the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon should not be written off.
Owolabi told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) there should be no room for complacency in spite of Cameroon’s poor outing at the ongoing FIFA Confederations Cup competition in Russia.
He warned that the Super Eagles would likely meet a more determined opponent in Cameroon during the 2018 World Cup qualifier in Uyo in August.
“The competition has served as a kind of training for the African champions, even though they didn’t go far in the tournament, but they were resilient.
“In all of their matches, you can see they weren’t going to back down. It was always a do-or-die situation. They played like it was going to be their last match.
“Not going far wasn’t good for their reputation, but they still have that never-say-die spirit. That’s the number one thing any good team needs.
“Their current form shouldn’t be a threat to us if truly we have gone back to the drawing board like the team’s technical crew promised after the last outing against Bafana Bafana of South Africa,’’ Owolabi said.
NAN reports that the Central African side played a 1-1 draw with Australia, and lost to Chile and Germany to crash out of the tournament.
Owolabi, whose Green Eagles squad won the 1980 edition of the African Cup of Nations, said the Super Eagles must be thoroughly prepared for the Indomitable Lions.
“I’m sure the handlers of Super Eagles are paying attention, and I hope they learnt from our last match against South Africa.
“Experience can never be bought. A good team that will stand the test of time is a blend of young and old. Experience is everything, we shouldn’t ignore that.
“As for the method of elimination by substitution, it should be a gradual thing. You just don’t change the composition of the team overnight,’’ he said.(NAN)