“we started very badly against Egypt, then we beat Benin very unconvincingly, to the point where some even had the impression that Mozambique could beat us. I must confess that there was a lot of tension in the camp, the players were under a lot of pressure and when we came out against Mozambique, we knew we were condemned to win, and win well.”
The Locomotiv Moscow of Russia attacker said he could not pass a fitness test against Egypt, and it was “…not funny sitting on the bench and watching Egypt cancel our lead and go on to beat us . the world thinks a lot of us. As one of Africa’s world cup qualifiers, we were expected to do well and we knew this.
“ Even the victory against Benin did not bring out the expected confidence and we had had to wait against Mozambique to really announce our entry into the competition.
“ My goals have brought out our confidence. Now, we believe we can go further to win the cup. Now we know that if we give it our all, nobody can stop us. Nigeria is a great football nation. Anybody that wears the national colours of green and white, should be ready to carry the weight of responsibility that goes with it”
Asked whether Nigeria will prefer avoiding Cameroun in the quarter finals, he said. “ i do not think Nigeria is afraid of anybody. All we do is that we respect teams, just as they respect us. If you look at the results already achieved in this competition, big teams have been shocked, but their character and pedigree has brought them back. Nigeria-Cameroun will be a big match. The world is expecting such confrontations and i am sure we will rise to the occasion”
Can he comment on the injuries that have plagued the team, especially to the star players, will this not impede the wish to do well? “ Apart from Captain Yobo who is out, others are in good shape. Obafemi Martins came out against Mozambique and scored a beautiful goal that boosted his confidence. Apart from that, there are a lot of young players on the wings waiting to seize available opportunity”
If you are told to dedicate your goals, who will you dedicate them to ? “ Apart from my team mates who made it possible, Aiyegbeni for instance had an opportunity to score, yet he passed the ball to me. So, apart from my colleagues, i want to dedicate my goals to those who lost their lives in the Jos riots in Nigeria and pray that we should endeavour to eradicate anything that will lead to senseless loss of lives, anywhere in the world”
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