— Get extra boosts from NFF, FG
By Gbenga Jolaosho
Super Eagles are poised to make up for their sloppy showing at the ongoing FIFA World Cup Tournament in Brazil when they file out against Bosnia-Herzegovina tomorrow.
Nigeria played goalless draw with Iran in their opening match and nowneed to pick the maximum points at stake in the encounter slated for Cuiaba to brighten their chances of making it to the round-16 of the competition.
Eagles are surely not unmindful of the uphill task before them as their opponents, Bosnia-Herzegovina, would equally be all out to record their first victory having lost 1 – 2 to Argentina in their first game, but the Nigerian side are bolstered by the extra motivations they are receiving from both the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the Federal Government to emerge victorious in the encounter.
NFF president, Alhaji Aminu Maigari, in company of other top members of the federation, made a morale boosting visit to the Super Eagles Campinas camp on Wednesday to assure the team of their solid backing to make it to the next round of the championship.
Maigari, who promised to visit the team for another round of pep-talk before taking to pitch against Bosnia, admonished the players to fully concentrate on the match and ignore the barrage of criticisms that greeted their first game.
“There is no doubt that we are all under serious pressure, because you are expected to deliver and meet the great expectations of Nigerians back home. We have heard the series of criticisms against you by the same people who say you are the best in the world only a few days ago, but we know that it was the same thing that happened at the Nations Cup and helped to rejuvenate the team. And I am certain that those who have criticized you today will be the same people that will join to celebrate you in the coming weeks when must have prove your mettle”, he declared.
Blueprint Sport also gathered that as part of the efforts to fire up the psyche of the players towards the game, head of the federal government-led delegation to the mundial, Senator David Mark, made a promise to personally reward the team with an undisclosed amount should they beat Bosnia and also qualify from the group stage to the next round of the competition.
And as an evidence to show the commitment of the federal government to make the team successful, the players were presented the papers of the landed properties given to them by President Goodluck Jonathan for winning the last Nations Cup in South Africa. The team administrator, Dayo Enebi Achor, received the papers for onward distribution to the players.
In his reaction on behalf of the team, Eagles skipper, Joseph Yobo, assured that Bosnia would be beaten to assuage Nigerians, saying “it will be a total war this time around, and nothing will stop us from making it pass this Group F by God’s grace as we know that our fans at home are not happy with the 0-0 draw with Iran.”
Nigeria last game in Group F will be against Argentina in Albiceleste on June 25.