Tanzania match key to Eagles, says Oliseh

Super Eagles’ Head Coach, Sunday Oliseh, believes Nigeria would be a step closer to the Gabon 2017 African Nations Cup if they beat Tanzania in Dares Salaam in the second round of qualifiers for the continental showpiece next month.

Nigeria defeated Chad in their opening game of the qualifiers, but the Super Eagles are tied on three points with Egypt. Oliseh is currently in the United Kingdom, where, according to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), he is meeting with some senior Nigerian internationals.

Speaking on the game in Dar es Salaam, Oliseh told thenff.com that “the match in Dar es Salaam is very, very crucial, not only because it will be my first match as Head Coach, but also because we have no choice than to win.

The three points are important for us to keep up the tempo in our group.   “We are on the same three points with Egypt, though they have scored a goal more. That is why we cannot afford any slip along the way.

We will deal first with the match in Tanzania, and then we will start thinking about the CHAN qualifiers with Burkina Faso in October, and then the World Cup qualifying fixture in November. “There is a lot of work. After these matches, we will now start working towards the two AFCON qualifying matches we have with the Pharaohs in March next year.”

According to the NFF, Oliseh and NFF President, Amaju Pinnick, will also be involved in a number of sessions with some corporate groups interested in partnering with Nigeria football.

“We will spread our dragnet far and wide, and any player who is in great form and we believe can add value to the Super Eagles will be invited to fight for shirt to represent Nigeria,” he added.

The Super Eagles play Tanzania at the National Stadium, Dar es Salaam on September 5 before playing a yet to be disclosed team in an international friendly.