The Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Owan Enoh, has called on the Super Eagles to start their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying series against Lesotho on a very strong note.
Nigeria trade tackles with Lesotho at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo tomorrow from 5pm, with three points at stake, and then fly to Butare in Rwanda to take on the Warriors of Zimbabwe in a Day 2 encounter on Sunday.
Speaking ahead of the match, Senator Enoh urged the technical crew and the players to put their best foot forward in these two games.
“The memory of losing out during the qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup is still fresh in the minds of Nigerians.
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“The team should avoid leaving their fate to permutations. We should bring out our best to pick the first six points in front of us.”
“I have complete faith in our talented squad. The Super Eagles have a rich history of success, and we believe they are fully capable of securing two wins in the upcoming matches,” he said.
Meanwhile, team leader, Kenneth Omeruo has said the three-time African champions have held a meeting where it was decided they will take the long campaign one-match-at-a-time. The10-match series will stretch over the next 47 months.
“Most of us in the team still remember how painful it was not to be part of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The memory lingers but then, that is gone. This is a fresh opportunity and we all want to be at the next one.
“There is always the temptation to over-think how to process the campaign, but it is a long one and we have opted to think and plan for only the match ahead of us.
“On Thursday, we will play Lesotho.
“We remember them from our 2021 AFCON qualifiers. After the final whistle on Thursday, we can then start thinking about the next opponents,” said the 2013 AFCON winner.
All 23 invited players have arrived at the Super Eagles’ Four Point By Sheraton Hotel in Uyo, and all trained at the training pitch of the Godswill Akpabio Stadium on Tuesday.
Later today, the Super Eagles and Crocodiles will take turns to have official training at the match venue.
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