Egypt Match Important To Nigeria – Amokachi

Nigeria assistant coach Daniel Amokachi has described group rivals Egypt, back to back African champions, as being in a ‘recession’ and says that Nigeria can win the Nations Cup.

“It is important for us to win the Afcon as it will be important for our preparations for the 2010 World Cup. We have the players and technical support to ensure we do well. All that we can ask for now is for the Nigerians, and those who are not in the Afcon, to back us up,” Amokachi wrote in his blog on SuperSport’s African Nations Cup page.

The former Super Eagles striker concedes, though, that the opening match will be tough.

“The match against Egypt is going to be tough. They have won the Afcon twice in succession and as defending champions, they will definitely want to do well. But the way I see it, you could say they are in a recession and this game comes at the right time for us,” Amokachi wrote.

Unlike past years, the Super Eagles go into this year’s African Nations Cup with hugely lowered expectations from their fans, following their tortuous qualification for the World Cup, but Amokachi insists that the team has prepared well enough and have the squad to do well, starting with a win against Egypt.

“We have just had a wonderful training camp in Durban in preparation for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations and we are now on our way to Angola where we play our first match of the tournament against Egypt in Benguela.

“We have to win and I think we will win the game against Egypt. Our players are in good form and ready to do the Nigerians proud. This is probably one of the best Afcon line-ups we have had in a long time and I am sure the general public will not be disappointed with the quality of football.”

Benin is next for the Super Eagles and Amokachi warns that they could be dangerous.

“After Egypt, we play Benin on January 16 and many people might think this will be a walk in the park. Yes, we have had some good results against Benin in the past, but this time around close to 80 per cent of their players are Nigerians and they will have a point to prove. As such we will not underestimate them.”