Some football enthusiasts on Saturday urged the Super Eagles team to ensure the defeat of Swaziland in their second leg FIFA World Cup group stage qualifier, coming up in Port-Harcourt.
Super Eagles were held to a goalless draw against lowly rated Swaziland in the first leg encounter played on Friday, in Lobamba, Swaziland.
They told our journalist in separate interviews in Lagos that while hope was not lost for the team, a lot of work needed to be done to ensure victory.
Ikenna Ebokem, a spare parts dealer, told our reporter that he had confidence in the ability of the team to qualify.
"The Swaziland team is no serious threat to our progress but we need to be very careful in our defense.
``The attack should be led by Ighalo, who is currently one of the leading scorers in the English Premiership league; I have confidence in this man to deliver,’’ Ebokem said.
Femi Adekunle, a mechanic, said the team did not live up to expectation in making use of their scoring chances and therefore urged them to be careful in their second leg.
``They have to be very careful in their second leg; they cannot afford to underrate Swaziland because they are also a good team,’’ Adekunle said.
Chidoze Akamadu, a shop keeper, said the Super Eagles played with a lot of determinationbut were just unlucky to score.
``We were unlucky; sometimes this happens in football; the team should rise up to the occasion and continue where they stopped in the first leg.
``We will win in Port Harcourt because we are a better side than the
Swaziland team,’’ Akamadu said.
Kingsley Ogbonna said he was optimistic that the Swaziland team would succumb to the pressure of the Eagles in Port Harcourt.
``The Swaziland team was just lucky to secure a draw out of that match because the Super Eagles team did everything to get their goals.
``However, I am confident the situation will be different in Port Harcourt, as the superiority of the Eagles team will overwhelm them,’’ Ogbonna said.
The winner of the second leg encounters, which comes up on
Tuesday in Port Harcourt, will proceed to the group stage of the 2018 World cup in Russia.
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