SUPER Eagles head coach Austin Eguavoen has made a vow that his team will treat Sudan with respect on Saturday.
The Nigerian side face Sudan in the second matchday of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations Group D in Garoua.
The Eagles were brilliant on Tuesday when they defeated Egypt 1-0, while Sudan were fortunate to escape with a 0-0 against Guinea-Bissau on the same day.
Still, Eguavoen is not dismissing the chances of the Jedian Falcons to cause an upset.
“We saw the game between Sudan and Guinea Bissau on Tuesday and what I can assure you is that we will not be under-rating them,” the former Super Eagles captain told a pre-match press conference.
“We are taking it one match at a time and will approach this game differently from how we set up against Egypt. We will throw in our very best.”
Eguavoen, who coached the Super Eagles to bronze in the 2006 AFCON in Egypt, said he was not thinking of anything beyond Saturday’s encounter, which kicks off at 5pm Nigerian time.
“I am happy with the players and their ability to give their best on the pitch. I am focused on winning against Sudan at the moment,” he added.
“I am not thinking about anything else or how we will start our third match. We are completely focused on our match against Sudan. Beating Egypt was not easy, and we are looking forward to continuing our victories and qualifying for the next round.”
Moses Simon, who was one of Nigeria’s best players against Egypt, credited Eguavoen with unshackling his attacking instincts as he looked ahead to Saturday’s clash.
“I’m happy to beat Egypt, the great team with great players,” the Nantes forward said.
“I’m also happy because it was my best match in a long time. The way I play has changed and now the coach is giving me more attacking freedom. We hope to achieve a good result against Sudan to ensure qualification.”
A win for the Super Eagles will guarantee passage to the round of 16, while a draw would also leave them in a good position to advance.
