Chairman of Enugu State Football Association, Chidi Okenwa has urged players of the Super Eagles to show patriotism in their World Cup qualifier against the Desert Foxes of Algeria on Nov.12.
Okenwa, who made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu on Tuesday, said the players must humble the Algerians, so as to put smiles on the faces of millions of their supporters cross the country.
“Forget about the present ranking and face the match squarely to ensure victory, so as to brighten Nigeria’s chances of qualifying for the Russia 2018 World Cup.
“Although Algeria has much arsenals at their disposal, we have the fire power to beat them on Saturday and ultimately qualify for the world cup.
“I have no doubt on the ability of the present Eagles; and for them to beat Zambia all the way in Ndola means that they can get good result any where any time.
“We need to consolidate our 2-1 victory in Zambia with another victory against the Algerians because it may be the decider in the group,’’ he said.
He added that victory over Algerians will send a big message to other teams in the group.
Okenwa, therefore, implored the players to use the opportunity to show the world that Nigeria is back to reckoning as a football giant in Africa.
The Enugu FA chairman said that Nigeria needed to qualify for the world cup more than other teams in the group, as other countries of the world are desirous of seeing the Eagles play at the world stage.
Okenwa said that with the current caliber of technical crew at the Eagle’s camp, Nigeria will come out top against any opponent.
“I know that the technical crew led by Gernot Rohr will want to be at the world cup and to enrich their credentials,’’ he added. (NAN)