Nigeria faces the toughest encounter leading to either its exit from AFCON 2015 or qualification for the tournament next year
(Getty Images) The Super Eagles of Nigeria face their toughest fight against Congo on Saturday in their quest to qualify for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations
Hmmm, first a sigh and then a gasp as the day ticks closer and Nigeria’s fate hangs in the balance when it comes to qualifying for the African Cup of Nations tournament
Nigeria hosted Congo on September 5 in Calabar with hopes and thoughts that they would floor their East African counterparts
As nature rewards complacency and inadequate preparation, the 2013 African Cup of Nations champions were shocked to the bones when Claude Le Roy a bunch of unknown boys against a fairly known Super Eagles team to a 3-2 victory right in the faces of the Calabar fans and many other supporters watching on their TVs
After that game, the expectations were that Nigeria would return with a lot more determination and zeal to repair the disappointments they caused against Congo
Nigeria played two other games afterwards and that did not change the course of things as they slumbered to a 0-0 draw against the Bafana Bafana of South Africa and a hugely disappointing loss to the Falcons of Sudan in Khartoum which deepened the chances of the defending champions losing out in the qualification stage of a major championship like AFCON
Egypt is the first and only defending country that failed to defend the title after 2010 as it did not qualify for the tournament in 2012
Again Nigeria faces Congo who by now should be dreaded obstacles in the flesh of the Nigerians; with everything at stake, a win bolsters the chances of the team in qualifying while a loss rues them out completely
Stephen Keshi will meet his foreign counterpart again in Point Noire on November 15, knowing fully that he does not have a good record against non-African coaches with his last and formidable victory being the game against Bosnia at the World Cup where he beat Safet Susic on the bench of the Bosnians
Claude Le Roy holds the baton against Nigeria; the Frenchman has faced Nigeria three time, twice as coach of Cameroon and on all occasions, he has beaten the Super Eagles
The Super Eagles go to training for the cracker, the road to Congo; a walk through the valley of the shadow of death with hopes in one corner and fears in the corner
Many think that the chance is no more for Nigeria to make it while some still believe
The technical crew confirms that the team begins training on Tuesday with the arrival of several players to camp
As at the time of this story, the arrival at camp is still short of the invited 24 but the coach seems not deterred by the cluster, he strongly states that it is time for business as they gird up to fight for the ticket to AFCON 2015
“We have played with ourselves for sometimes, now is time for business and we have to get the job done and no kidding with players and officials from Monday.
“We have said we can qualify the country and we are ready for that task, now is time for action and less talk,” Keshi told newsmen in Abuja.
#Pulse.ng
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