SUPER Eagles head coach Austin Eguavoen has no plans to take things easy with Guinea-Bissau in their Cameroon 2021 Africa Cup of Nations clash, he has said.
The Nigerian side are already guaranteed a round of 16 spot as Group D leaders after winning their first two matches against Egypt and Sudan.
The three-time African champions face Guinea-Bissau on Wednesday not needing anything, but Eguavoen insists his side will go for the three points.
“It is important for us to sustain the winning mentality while we keep our heads on our shoulders,” the former Nigeria defender and captain said in Garoua.
“Just as I told the boys after the match against Egypt, we are yet to win anything here except points. Guinea-Bissau need the three points because they have only one so far and we must be prepared for a massive fight.
“If we let down our guard, we could be punished, and that would not be good for the team’s psychology. We will go for the three points.”
Eguavoen has a lot of respect for Guinea-Bissau, although they have only one point from their opening two matches, having drawn with Sudan and lost narrowly to Egypt.
“With a little more luck, they could have beaten Sudan and could have drawn with Egypt,” Eguavoen noted.
“That is the kind of opposition we face on Wednesday. Nobody will tell me they’re pushovers.After watching all the teams play, many pundits and football fans have tipped the Super Eagles as favourites for the title, along with hosts Cameroon, but 1994 winner Eguavoen is not looking that far ahead at the moment.
“That is still a long way off,” he said.
“We are focused on the match against Guinea Bissau. One game at a time.”
The Confederation of African Football has appointed Kenyan Peter Waweru Kamaku as centre referee for Wednesday’s encounter.
The 39-year old has a doctorate degree in Pure Mathematics and is a university lecturer.
He will be assisted by compatriot Gilbert Cheruiyot (assistant referee 1), Mozambican Arsenio Maringule (assistant referee 2) and Moroccan Redouane Jiyed (fourth official).The match commissioner will be Youssouf Guedi Guirreh from Djibouti.
