The Nigeria Football Federation has asked Super Eagles coach
Gernot Rohr to do quickly reverse the “huge shock” and defeat suffered by
Nigeria against the Central African Republic in Douala on Sunday.
President of the NFF and FIFA Council Member, Mr Amaju
Melvin Pinnick, in a statement on Friday that the Super Eagles have the
character to bounce back from the 1-0 home defeat to the central Africans and
still fly very high above other contenders in Group C of the African race.
Pinnick said, “This result has been a huge shock, especially
after the NFF provided everything necessary to make the team comfortable and
focused on the task at hand, even going the extra mile in a number of areas.
The Federation wishes to appreciate the Federal Government, the Lagos State
Government and our partners and sponsors for their support to enable us provide
the necessary comfort and conducive environment for the team to succeed.
“This is a setback, which can be quickly reversed, and the
Nigerian Spirit is what we will take to Cameroon. The NFF is backing the team
to retain a strong hold on the group and qualify to the knockout phase.
“At the halfway mark of this phase, our Super Eagles still
top the group. I am in touch with even the players that are injured like
Wilfred Ndidi, Oghenekaro Etebo and Alex Iwobi. They are all very sad with the
result. The players who featured in today’s match are all very sober and sad.
They know what is important now is their reaction to the situation when they
take to the pitch in Douala on Sunday. We believe they will deliver against the
same team.”
Pinnick said the NFF was taking responsibility for the
defeat and urged Nigerians from far and near to get behind the team at this
period.
“Everyone is stunned, but we do not have to be emotional or
negative about things. The same team defeated Liberia here in Lagos and Cape
Verde away. They still have that ability to deliver. As a Football Federation,
we take responsibility for this defeat. We believe things will change
positively in three days. We also believe that this loss is a massive wake-up
call and could be the springboard to reset and motivate the team to keep giving
their all to not only qualify for the World Cup but to perform well in Qatar.”
Nigeria remain top of Group C with six points, two more than both Cape Verde (who defeated Liberia’s Lone Star in Monrovia) and Central African Republic, with Liberia bumped to bottom place.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everydayAdvertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com