Former Coach of the Flying Eagles, John Obuh has warned against putting unnecessary pressure on the Super Eagles as they prepare for their first game at the FIFA World Cup in Russia.
Obuh gave the warning on Tuesday in an interview in Enugu.
The former coach of Rangers International of Enugu said that though Nigerians were expectant of a good outing by the team at the mundial, “I do not expect them to come back with the trophy.
“We have a young and exciting team with a good technical crew that have done well so far, however, the world cup is a different stage entirely where the best teams participate.
“I think it will be unnecessary to expect our team to come back with the trophy but we expect them to at least surpass what we had achieved in the past,” he said.
Obuh said the current Super Eagles is a team for the future which if well blended would take the world by the storm in future competitions.
“I am impressed by the youthfulness of the team and the fact that we have a very good bench, so I expect our boys to play exciting football,” he said.
The coach said the greatest weapon the team had ahead of the competition was the unity among the players which he noted was usually lacking in previous championships.
Obuh said the leadership of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) needed to be commended for the excellent preparation and logistics support for the team.
Meanwhile, a sports enthusiast, Eddie Mbadiwe has tipped the African teams in the competition to go far in spite of contrasting friendly match results involving them.
Mbadiwe, a former member of the House of Representatives, said that he wished that all the teams, especially the Super Eagles improve in their performances.
“With star players like Alex Iwobi and Victor Moses, Nigeria has all it takes to shake the world, the team only needs our prayers and support,” he said.
The competition will start on June 12 with the Eagles playing their first game on June 16 against Croatia.
The Eagles have not gone past the second round of the competition since their first appearance in 1994.
Other African representatives in the competition are Senegal, Egypt, Tunisia and Morroco.
(NAN)
