Okocha, NFF scribe thrilled by Eagles’ form

• Round of 16 draw out
Former Super Eagles Captain, Austin Jay Jay Okocha, has described the team’s performance at the 33rd Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroun as fantastic.

Apart from being the only team that finished the group stage with the maximum nine points, Coach Austin Eguavoen also equaled the record he set as an indigenous coach in 2006, when he led the Super Eagles to win all their group matches in the city of Port Said, Egypt.

At Egypt 2006 AFCON, Okocha featured in the team, which eventually lost to the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire in the semifinal in Alexandra.

This time around, Eguavoen, who was named interim coach a few weeks before the team’s departure to Cameroun, is operating with a new set of players, while Okocha operates as pundit for the tournament in South Africa.

In his short message to The Guardian shortly before the Super Eagles took on the Wild Dogs of Guinea-Bissau in their last group match on Wednesday, Okocha said: “I am happy with the team for the fantastic job.”

In the same way, General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, commended the team for what he described as ‘excellent’ job in the tournament.

Goals by Sadiq Umar and William Ekong saw off the Wild Dogs of Guinea Bissau in Garoua, northern Cameroun, on Wednesday.

“It was an excellent performance by the Super Eagles, and we believe it can go all the way.”

The round of 16 opponent for the Super Eagles was expected to emerge last night from one of the third–placed teams from any of groups B, E and F. The match holds on Sunday in Garoua.

MEANWHILE, Burkina Faso will face Gabon on January 23 in the round of 16, while Senegal meet Cape Verde on January 25, just as Morocco will face Malawi.

Like Nigeria, the round of 16 opponent for the Pharaohs of Egypt was still being expected last night.