Sports
‘Nigeria’s W’Cup Draw, Decent But Tricky’
A section of football enthusiasts in Nigeria has described the country’s 2018 World Cup group draw as “decent, but tricky”.
Nigeria was last Friday in Moscow drawn alongside Argentina in the preliminary stage for the fifth time in the Super Eagles’ six appearances at the FIFA World Cup finals.
The Super Eagles were drawn alongside Argentina, Iceland and Croatia in Group D.
Some of the football enthusiasts, who spoke with newsmen at the weekend in Abuja said the Super Eagles stood a good chance of making it out of the group.
They, however, urged the national team to tread cautiously and not take any of their opponents for granted.
, the Secretary General, Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), Tunde Popoola said:”We were worried about getting one of the big names; I wanted a balanced group and I think we’ve got that.
“We have a decent group, but we must be cautious.
“Nothing will be easy, but it is a group in which we have a chance and so we must begin our work,” he said.
The Chairman, FCT Football Association, said: Musa Talle “Argentina are really strong, but beatable just like we saw recently.
“There are places where we can hurt them.
“The other two teams, Croatia and Iceland, I‘m not too familiar with.
“But I think it’s a good enough draw.
“Having said that, we have to work hard and not judge anybody.
“You can’t go to a World Cup and think that a particular opponent is easy. That would be a great mistake,” he said.
The Chairman, Akwa United Football Club, Paul Bassey said: “It’s a very deceptive and treacherous group.
“We have to accept that we are one of the favourites, but if you look at the group in a more detailed manner, you can see it’s a very difficult one.
“Argentina are naturally favourites, as I’ve always said. They are a great team, with the best player in history (Lionel Messi) and a host of top-level footballers.
“Our other opponents – Croatia and Iceland – are unpredictable sides. With them, you don’t know what you’re going to get and that makes them very dangerous as well,” he said.
An Assistant Coach with Nigeria’s U-20 Women’s national team, Falconets, Mansur Abdullahi, said, “I cannot say whether or not I am happy with the draw. The group is what it is.
Iwobi spoke to Tidesports source ahead of Nigeria’s crunch playoff semi-final against Gabon on Thursday, November 13, in Rabat, Morocco.
The 28-year-old was reacting to Nigeria’s shaky World Cup qualifying campaign that saw the Eagles finish second in Group C behind South Africa’s Bafana Bafana.
“We’ve managed to rescue ourselves from the dead,” Iwobi told Tidesports source.
We know we have the players and the abilities to compete against any other country in the world.”
The Fulham star pointed to Nigeria’s star power, highlighting African Footballer of the Year winners Ademola Lookman and Victor Osimhen as proof of the squad’s quality.
“We have last year’s African best player (Ademola Lookman), the year before that (Victor Osimhen),” he said.
“It’ll be a shame if we don’t make it, but we have a lot of confidence. We just have to prove it to ourselves.”
Nigeria’s path to the United States, Canada and Mexico has been turbulent, with two coaches departing during the early stages of qualifying before Éric Chelle steadied the ship to steer the Super Eagles into November’s CAF playoffs.
Four nations from the continent – Nigeria, Cameroon, DR Congo and Gabon – will vie for a solitary spot to compete in next March’s inter-confederation playoffs, with a view to joining the already nine qualified African nations at the Finals.
It would mark Iwobi’s second appearance at the World Cup Finals and the Super Eagles’ first since the 2018 edition of the competition.
Back then, Iwobi featured in all three games as Nigeria was knocked out in the group stage.
The Chief Executive Officer(CEO) and Publisher of the Atlantic Bell Online medium, Mr. Celestine Ogolo has advised sports writers in Nigeria to diversify in sports writing and not to concentrate on football reporting alone.
The Deputy National President of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) Mr. Bonny Nyong has expressed commitment to support sports development and move SWAN forward.