Coach Sunday Oliseh and players of the Super Eagles will have to go an extra mile to ensure victory in today’s World Cup qualifier against ‘minnow’ Sihlangu Somnikati of Swaziland, if declaration by coach of the host country is anything to go by.
Today’s Russia 2018 World Cup qualifier will hold at the Somhlolo National Stadium and Coach Harris Bulunga is telling everyone who care to listen that his team unity, coupled with determination on part of his players to make name for themselves, could help his men upstage the ‘dangerous’ Nigerian side.
Oliseh has lost one match in four games since he took over from Stephen Keshi in the middle of the year and he is looking forward to grab a positive result here in Lobamba to guarantee a place in the next round of qualifiers.
On paper, the Super Eagles are expected to overrun their host today, but Coach Bulunga is optimistic of turning the heat against Nigeria.
To reach this stage of the qualifiers, the southern Africans (Swaziland) dispatched Djibouti 8-1 on aggregate, a performance Coach Bulunga is hoping to replicate against the Super Eagles today.
Swaziland are ranked 130th by Fifa while the Super Eagles are ranked 59th.
For coach Bulunga, all that will count for nothing at the end of the match today. “We are facing one of the superpowers of African football so we cannot get carried away, go out and attack even though we are playing at home,” Bulunga said.
“We need to respect the Nigerian team because they are made up of mostly professional players who we watch on television, we know what they are all about and how dangerous they can be, so we need to be careful.
“We don’t have a lot of stars but for us, it is all about team work. We have got a very united team that has been together for a long time. They fight for each other. So it is the unity in us that has helped us achieve what we have achieved recently and it will sure work for us against Nigeria,” Coach Bulunga stated.
