Former Super Eagles forward, Osaze Odemwingie has called for full focus in Nigeria’s final World Cup qualifying matches.
The Super Eagles will face Lesotho and Benin Republic, with only a slim chance of either securing a qualification spot to the World Cup, and Odemwingie has urged the players to fight to the end.
Speaking on Brila FM’s breakfast show, ‘No Holds Barred with Ifeanyi Udeze’, Odemwingie stressed the need to avoid distractions at this crucial stage.
“I don’t think this is the time to create this type of atmosphere around the team about sacking people and changing things,” Odemwingie argued.
“The overhaul will happen naturally. At the moment, I think we should still talk more about the chances we have. At the same time, we need to defend our pride.
“In football, I think fans appreciate a good effort, whether you win or not. Once they see an effort, fans will be happy that at least when it mattered; in the last two games, we gave it all.”
He continued:
“The fact that we barely beat Rwanda and were so happy about it isn’t convincing. This time it means we have to focus on winning our last two games and hope others will slip up.
“In African football these days, even the giants slip and struggle against the smaller teams, which actually makes it real that anything can still happen—so let’s remain positive.”
Poor Preparation Begets Poor Results
The 44-year-old blamed late preparation for the situation the Super Eagles are in, and suggested all parties did not show enough commitment from the start.
“I think a draw against South Africa away from home is a good result, looking at how their football has improved over the last few years. I think it’s a good result, but we should have wrapped things up earlier in the group.
“This is another thing we need to learn—we don’t need to wait and see how things go before we react. From the first game, we should treat it as the last game of the qualifiers.”
Also read: Super Eagles, NFF to Blame for Messy World Cup Qualifiers – Ejiofor
“Obviously, we will learn as a country and Federation. I won’t focus on who is coming next to take the job. Let’s just play for our pride and make ourselves look good. Even if we lose, we should be good losers.”
Odemwingie represented Nigeria at two World Cups and played a key role in helping the Super Eagles reach the Round of 16 at the 2014 edition, scoring a crucial goal against Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 21.
