• Kanu sings victory song
Former Green Eagles winger, Adegoke Adelabu, has warned the Super Eagles not to fall to the ‘usual football tricks’ of Algeria in tomorrow’s 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier in Uyo.

“Algerians are specialists in knocking the ball around and they are dangerous customers any day,” Adelabu told The Guardian yesterday in Lagos. “I see them scoring first in this game because as it is, the Algerians are like a wounded lion after sharing points with Cameroun at home in their first match. But the way our players will respond is what I can’t really figure out now.”

Adelabu was part of the then Green Eagles squad that lost 1-2 to the Desert Warriors of Algeria at Libya ’82 African Cup of Nations in the city of Benghazi. He said that the Algerians would commence tomorrow’s game determined to put the Eagles on the defensive. “I know what the Algerians are capable of doing, especially now that a World Cup ticket is at stake. This is not to under-rate the strength of our Super Eagles. As I said, our players must not allow them to score first. If they do, the Desert Warriors I know will then unleash their usual tricks by holding on to the ball and looking for a counter to punish you.”

Speaking further, the former IICC Shooting Stars of Ibadan winger said: “To checkmate the Algerians, the Super Eagles need to do a lot of speed work on Saturday in Uyo. Our players must not allow the Algerians to settle down, especially in the midfield.

“The Super Eagles’ handlers must feature players who can do the speed work because they must respond to every trick the Algerians will put on the table. Another important thing is that our players must find a way of putting the ball behind the Algerian defenders for the strikers to finish up. There should be no room for fancy play just to entertain the crowd. The strikers must not be wasteful in front of goal. We need the three points,” Adelabu stated.

Also speaking on the game, former team skipper, Kanu Nwankwo, believes Nigeria have a great chance of beating Algeria’s Desert Warriors at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium.

Kanu says the attitude and body language of the players fills him with enormous confidence that a win could be on the cards for the Super Eagles in Uyo.

“I can see the joy and happiness in our Super Eagles players, that’s a sign of good team spirit and they will show it in the game against Algeria,” Kanu wrote on his official twitter account, @papilokanu.Kanu, who scored 12 goals for Nigeria at senior level, earning 87 caps for the Super Eagles between 1994 and 2011.