1st September, 2011
Former Super Eagles’ Coach, Paul Hamilton, has charged Samson Siasia and his team not to underrate the Madagascar team, who are mainly U-23 team in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match scheduled to hold on Sunday in Antananarivo.
Hamilton said Nigeria may jeopadise their chances of playing in the Nations Cup if the Eagles fail to secure the three pionts at stake from the match, hence the need not to take their opponents for granted.
According to Hamilton, the disbandment of Madagascar senior national team should not make the Eagles feel that they will have an easy ride over the Berea.
“It is true that Madagascar FA disbanded its national team after they failed to live up to expectation but the Eagles should not see this development as a sigh of relief rather they should go to Antananarivo and play the game of their life and win convincingly,†he said.
The Proprietor of Weekend Academy said the only way Nigeria can qualify for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations is to make sure that they win their remaining two matches, saying that failure to secure victories in their last two matches will be disastrous. “We cannot afford not to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations. This is the time our players should realise that Nigerians can only be happy if they win against Madagascar on Sunday,†he said.
Commenting on Eagles’ preparation, former Super Falcons’ coach expressed satisfaction with the training of the players, saying that the absence of key players in the team and other problem of logistic may not really affect the team in Sunday’s cracker.
He said that the Eagles have no excuse if they fail in Madagascar. He believes that with the caliber of players in camp and the coaching crew led by Samson Siasia, Nigeria a good chance of winning the match.
—Sunday Akintoye