Nigerians in St. Petersburg have urged the Super Eagles to go all out for outright victory against Iceland in their second group D encounter on Friday at Volgograd.
The Super Eagles had earlier suffered a 2 – 0 painful defeat in the hands of Vatreni of Croatia in their first match in Group D on Saturday at Kaliningrad stadium.
The Nigerians told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Thursday, that the only way to redeem the team’s pre-tournament rating was for the Coach Garnet Rohr tutored side to come out strong against their opponents.
Celestine Okonkwo, a Nigerian who is in Russia to witness the Mundial said that for Nigeria to remain in contention, the Eagles must up their game and beat Iceland outrightly.
“Before the competition, a lot of people rated the team to do well, but since they fail to beat Croatia in the first game the only option now is to go all out for victory against Iceland.
“It will not be too good for the Eagles to crash out of the competition in the first round of the tournament. It is better for the players and the coaching crew to work out a winning formula against their next opponents,’’ he said.
Mohammed Abdullaih, another Nigerian, told NAN that the match against Iceland must be won by Super Eagles to redeem not only Nigeria’s image but also that of Africa.
“After the exit of Egypt and Morocco from the competition, Nigeria must join Senegal to redeem the continent’s image by winning the match against Iceland tomorrow,’’ he said.
According to him, the team needs to be more aggressive in their opponent’s goal area unlike what happened against Croatia in their first game to achieve their mission.
Festus Ennahirre, another Nigerian who spoke to NAN, said that the only saving grace for the Eagles would be for the team to win the game against Iceland.
“It will not only keep them in the competition but also enhance the team’s image and rating.
“Prior to the competition, a lot of Nigerians at home and abroad expected much from the team, but after the scandalous 0-2 loss to Croatia they appeared disappointed.
“So the only thing left now is for them to win,’’ the soccer fan said.
He stressed that anything short of total victory against Iceland would not be acceptable to Nigerians and the followers of the team.
NAN investigation in the team’s camp revealed that the technical crew led by Coach Rohr have been working hard to ensure that the Eagles come out victorious on Friday.(NAN)