Super Eagles need victory against Zambia to boost chances, says Mutiu Adepoju

Former Super Eagles’ Midfielder, Mutiu Adepoju, believes the national team must strive hard to pick the maximum three points against Zambia in their opening match of the 2018 World Cup qualifying series to boost their chances of qualifying for the Coupe du Mundo.

Nigeria will face Zambia con October 3 before meeting Cameroun and Algeria later.Adepoju, who is also a member of the Nigeria Football Federation’s (NFF) Technical Committee, said the Eagles should take all their games seriously in the qualifiers and avoid complacency that might mar the team’s chances of picking points in all the matches.

The former Racing Santander of Spain player was impressed by the Eagles’ performance in their 1-0 defeat of Tanzania in a 2017 AFCON qualifier in Uyo, saying that the Gernot Rohr-tutored side would deliver the Russia 2018 World Cup ticket if the team were tactically disciplined in all their home and away games.

He opined that Cameroun, Algeria and Zambia would not be hard nuts to crack for the Super Eagles if the best players were used in the campaign. “Playing the first game against Zambia in the 2018 World Cup qualifier away from home should not put the Eagles under any pressure.

They need to work hard to win the game. This will put the team in a big advantage to secure the ticket. Every game in the series should be taken seriously to avoid permutations at the end of the day. With the determination displayed in the AFCON qualifier against Tanzania, I think we have the players that can give Nigeria the World Cup Ticket. All the coach needs to do is to create stiff competition among the players to get the best out of them,” he said.