By Daily Sports on November 29, 2015
Ex-international Moses Kpakor has emphatically said that with the calibre of players head coach of the U- 23 Eagles listed for the ongoing Africa U-23 Nations Cup in Senegal, he believes that the Nigerian side will pick one of the slots for the upcoming Olympics in Rio, Brazil, in 2016.
He, however, acknowledged the prowess of other teams in their group and restated that neither Egypt nor Mali will stop the Samson Siasia-led side from going ahead.
“The players have pedigree and experience in their own right. They are young and ball jugglers, too. They are aware why they are in Senegal and no amount of distraction will stop them from accomplishing the task ahead of them. Moreover, the lads knew the gains of their being in Rio Olympics football event and so must redouble their efforts to ensure they secure a ticket. It won’t be a tea party but I am sure all hands are on deck,” Kpakor said.
He also said the team’s main focus must be to secure a slot to Rio, then if winning the championship comes all well and good.
“Without much ado, I know that the thinking of Siasia-led technical crew and their players centre on the target of qualifying for the Olympics and no doubt about that the team is focused on achieving that. The other teams in our group won’t be comfortable too. They will be playing mind game; however, U-23 Eagles have all it takes to qualify for the big Games football event,” he restated.
The former BCC Lions play maker urged the boys not to either over-rate or under rate any of their opponents, saying they should rather adopt the system of taking each match as it comes. He advised that over-confidence must be discarded, saying that once all this is done and they play their style of game based on the match plan of their coach, there would be nothing to stand between them and victory. Nigerians, he added, are solidly behind them and they owe them the ticket in return.
•Photo shows ex-international Moses Kpakor.
Source Daily Sports
Posted November 29, 2015
You may also like...
Bayern’s Davies Grateful To Liberian Parents
Hazard: No Pressure To Replace Ronaldo At Madrid...
Buhari mourns Rev. Moses Iloh
Club Africain go top after victory in Nigeria...
Arsenal Given Psychological Boost During COVID-19 Lockdown
Morocco Can Silence Egypt's Mohamed Salah In AFCON...

Burkina Faso beat Nigeria to U-20 AFCON ticket
Ex-coach backs Uzun-Osimhen partnership at Gala
18 teams qualify for 2027 FIFA Women’s World C
Cameroon dump champions Nigeria out of WAFCON
Age controversy rocks Junior D’Tigers amid losses
Gift eyes more goals at WAFCON
Babajide relishes POTM honour
I want to leave records that will be hard to break – Ogazi
USA to host Joshua vs Fury match
Nigerian athletes blame jet lag for World U-20 performance
Why Gusau And The Present NFF Board Must Go!
Oshodi tips Africa’s young t’tennis stars for stardom
Rangers International going, going . . . (64,016 views)
Amaju Pinnick: A cat with nine lives (55,367 views)
Second Term: Amaju Pinnick, Other NFF Heavyweights Home to Roost •How Pinnick Broke the Jinx (53,264 views)
Current issues in Nigerian sports: Matters arising (52,866 views)
Sports Development: Zenith Bank on the zenith (52,746 views)
Missing $150,000 IAAF Grant: Solomon Dalung’s Hide and Seek game (52,621 views)
Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje’s solid footprints, commitment to sports development in Kano State (52,512 views)
NFF Presidency: Pinnick, Maigari, Ogunjobi, Okoye in Battle for Supremacy (52,020 views)
Olopade, BET9A wave of revolution in NNL (51,236 views)
Commonwealth Games 2018: Shame of Muhammadu Buhari, Solomon Dalung (49,705 views)
Ibrahimovic’s Man U exit: Whose decision is it? And in whose interest? (48,191 views)
John Mikel Obi: Segun Odegbami’s Outrageous Call! (47,571 views)