January 04, (THEWILL) – Augustine Eguavoen, Nigeria’s interim head coach, is unfazed about the challenge that awaits the Super Eagles in their opening game at the TotalEnergies 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) against Egypt on January 11 at the Roumdé Adjia Stadium in Garoua.
Not only are the Egyptian Pharaohs the continent’s most successful side, with seven titles, but they also boast in their ranks Mohamed Salah, perhaps the finest player in the English Premier League at the moment, with 32 goals (23 goals, 9 assists) this season.
Coach Carlos Queiroz also has Mohamed Elneny of Arsenal, Trézéguet of Aston Villa, and Mostafa Mohamed of Galatasaray at his disposal. Eguavoen’s main problem will be taming this pool of talent with his game plan, tactics, and strategy.
When reminded that North African teams were notoriously difficult to play against, Eguavoen countered with an emphasis on the fact that the Super Eagles themselves were rightly regarded as one of Africa’s football powerhouses.
“It’s also difficult to play against Nigeria, we are respected in Africa as well. Every team that is coming to AFCON is ready and we cannot say we are not ready as well,” Eguaoven said.
“We are equally ready, we respect every team and I believe every team respects Nigeria as well so we have to go in there with all our heart, work hard and make sure we try to make sure we meet the expectations.
“We’ll take it game after game, what I can also tell you is that the boys are ready, the Federation is ready, Nigerians are ready.
“The only thing we pray for is luck because luck is a big factor in everything you do in life. We will do our best and make sure we make the country proud”.
Eguavoen, who was part of the Super Eagles’ team that won the 1994 AFCON, is no stranger to North African opponents.
The 56-year-old previously coached Nigeria to a 5-2 victory over Algeria in a World Cup qualifier in September 2005 and then led the Super Eagles side to a quarterfinal appearance in AFCON five months later.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
