Former Super Eagles player and coach, Samson Siasia, is not sure this set of Super Eagles are prepared to win the World Cup in Russia.
Siasia was part of the Nigerian squad that made it to the Round of 16’ in the FIFA 1994 World Cup in USA, a feat that only the 1998 and 2014 Super Eagles teams have been able to achieve so far.
In an interview with The Cable, Siasia was asked to rate Nigeria’s chances in the world cup.
“I don’t think we are that prepared to win the World Cup. We are not in that category yet; we aren’t in that place to win it. We have a very young team with some old players. I don’t think this we are going win the World Cup with this Super Eagles team. I am hoping that they will supersede what we (’94 squad) did. That will be a good thing…
“Every country that has qualified for the World Cup stands the chance of winning the World Cup. But from all indications, our team is not the strongest team. The coach will have to work with the crop of players he has. It won’t be easy picking 23 at the end of it all. But he has to make sure we have a strong team that can compete well in Russia,” he said.
Learning each other’s play
Siasia continued, explaining that at the moment he thinks the Super Eagles have a good defense and there isn’t much of a problem with Nigeria’s strikers, the only issue would be if they’re not fed good balls, they can’t deliver.
“I think we have a good defense because without that defense, they wouldn’t have qualified. They wouldn’t have been where they are today. Though, they struggled a bit in goalkeeping but I think the defense is very solid. Troost-Ekong and Balogun, very solid defenders. Shehu Abdullahi is doing very well, a left back I think struggled a bit but I believe he is going to pick up hopefully before the World Cup. If he doesn’t, I think they will have to find a replacement. I think the defense is alright.
“I don’t think we have too much problem with the strikers. They are not bad. Odion Ighalo, Iheanacho, Moses and Moses Simon. Then Iwobi. Movement from the defence to the midfield and attack matters. You know if strikers don’t get fed with good balls, they cannot score. Ighalo is a very good finisher. It’s team work. The strikers will only be able to perform if they get passes to convert their chances.” Siasia added.
The former Super Eagles man further explained that if the Nigerian team would do well in the forthcoming World Cup they’ll need to put in a lot more preparation; the players mostly play in different teams and have no way of learning each other’s play properly before a match.
