Former Super Eagles coach, Christian
Chukwu, has hinted that the overconfidence exuded by Bafana Bafana of
South Africa will be the cause of their failure when they face Nigeria
in their last 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match in Uyo on
Wednesday.
South Africa are top of Group A with 11
points ahead of Nigeria who have seven points, same as Congo, who are
third in the group.
Bafana Bafana have never beaten the
Eagles in any competitive game but Wednesday’s encounter will create the
perfect platform for the South Africans to stand up to their hosts.
They will remain top of the group whether they win or lose.
Chukwu, who described last Saturday’s
game in Pointe Noire as one of Eagles’ best in recent times, said the
psychological edge perceived by the South Africans may work in two ways
for the visitors.
“There are two ways to look at it: it can
either boost their courage or cause their downfall. They have nothing
to lose, so they might play with the determination to beat Nigeria for
the first time on our soil,” Chukwu told our correspondent on the
telephone on Monday.
“The confidence might become too much for
them to manage and distort their game plan. Whichever way, the onus is
on the Super Eagles to play like they did against Congo and get the
result we want.”
The 1980 Nations Cup winner noted that
the return of striker Ikechukwu Uche added flair to the Eagles attack in
their last match, saying it was as if he never left the team.
“They all played well in that game but
you could see that there was an increased sense of urgency in the team
with the way Uche played. He did not even allow the past to bother him
when he stepped forward to take the penalty; not many players can have
such confidence,” he said.
Chukwu added that coach Stephen Keshi may
just have silenced his critics with the vital victory away from home,
but advised that the team needed to improve on their cohesion.
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