Siasia, NFF Confident Of Nations Cup Qualification

Samson Siasia and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) are confident the Super Eagles will finish top of their group and qualify for the 2012 African Nations Cup.

After a 2-2 draw against Ethiopia on Sunday, Siasia said extraneous circumstances were responsible and met with the NFF leadership on Monday afternoon.

“We will qualify for the Nations Cup. We know we can play better than we did against Ethiopia because the players were tired from jetlag and we will work with the NFF to resolve all those issues before the next match.”

The squad left Abuja on Saturday night, and arrived in Addis Ababa on Sunday morning after a one and half hour refueling layover at Entebbe, Uganda, with barely enough time to rest before heading out to the pitch.

The result was heavy legs, miscontrolled balls and sloppy passing.

NFF General Secretary, Musa Amadu said in Abuja that the Federation and the Super Eagles’ technical crew would meet again to resolve the logistical challenges before the next game.

“We are fully aware of the huge task at hand and we are ready to face and conquer that particular task. Nigeria must be one of the 16 teams that will participate at the 28th African Cup of Nations to be co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea early next year. That is non-negotiable,” Amadu said.

“This week, the NFF’s top hierarchy and Super Eagles’ Coach, Samson Siasia will sit down and look at all the challenges that are involved now and every step will be taken to overcome those challenges before the next game against Madagascar in Antananarivo in September.

“We did our best for the team to earn a win in Addis Ababa on Sunday, but unfortunately, the match ended in a draw and that means more work for everyone involved. We are ready to do that work in order to ensure Nigeria’s flag is flown in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea next year,” said Amadu.

Guinea went top of the group on match day 1 with a 4-1 win at Ethiopia, and consolidated with a 1-0 win over Nigeria.

They now lead the group on 10 points, with Nigeria on seven.

To qualify, Nigeria will have to beat Madagascar at Antananarivo on September 3, and Guinea by two clear goals on October 9 in Abuja.

CAF’s tie-breaker rules are based on head to head, rather than on goal difference.

Jamaica and Grenada players during the second day of the CONCACAF Gold Cup competition, yesterday