6th July, 2019
“Continue in this strength throughout the tournament until you bring the trophy home to Nigeria.” Those were the words of the former Green Eagles Goalkeeper, Emmanuel Okala, on Saturday night, shortly after a well deserved victory by the Super Eagles over their arch-rivals, the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon.
An elated Okala congratulated the Super Eagles on their 3 – 2 superlative win against the Cameroonian team.
The Ex-International told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the Eagles displayed patriotism and determination in Egypt.
He promised that, “Nigerians will continue to give counsel and pray for the Super Eagles to soar higher in the tournament and become crowned champions’’.
Okala was a member of the 1980 AFCON Cup winning squad.
He noted that it had been a while the Super Eagles stage a comeback to a tough team like the Indomitable Lions, who accidentally were also the defending champions of the tournament.
He commended the handlers of the national team making good and perfect selections.
“Good selection of players and substitutes made the team very strong against the Cameroonians’ strikes,’’ he added.
The Super Eagles led the game 1-0 through an Odion Ighalo strike until the 41st minute, before losing the lead and going behind within three minutes by two consecutive goals from the Indomitable Lions.
However, goals from Ighalo and Alex Iwobi within three minutes after the hour restored the Nigerian side’s lead and gave them the important 3 – 2 win.
Nigeria will now meet the winners of the fixture between hosts Egypt and South Africa on Saturday.