2nd June, 2018
Frank Ilaboya, Chairman of the Edo State Football Association has urged Nigerians not to be discouraged over the country’s defeat to England at a friendly match played at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.
Gary Cahill and Harry Kane put England ahead after finding the net in the seven and 35 minutes of the first half.
Nigeria’s Alex Iwobi pulled a goal back in the 47 minutes of the game to reduce the country goal deficit.
Ilaboya said that the outcome of the encounter was not a bad result, adding that fans should be more concerned about the team’s quality of play in Russia.
“We all know friendly games are test matches, so I believe we did not do badly against England.
“I so much believe in the team and the ability of the players, individually they may not be skillful as the 1994 squad but they play as a team,” he said.
He urged the Super Eagles handler, Gehr Rohr, to block all loopholes in the team before the kick-off of the mundial.
Bright Omokaro, an ex-international, said that the team performed fairly against the 3 Lions of England.
Omokaro said that the coach needed to work on all the technical lapses in the team.
“We play fairly but the coach still have a lot of technical work to do in the team, there is no cohesion among the players.
“All these errors should be rectified and the players should also justify themselves by playing well,“ he said.
The Super Eagles will play their last friendly match against Czech Republic before the World Cup in Russia.
Nigeria is in group D alongside Iceland, Argentina and Croatia