Super Eagles depart for sixth FIFA World Cup finals on Monday
- Super Eagles squad members will on Monday, June 11, depart their Avita Resort in Bad Tatzmannsdorf, Austria for Russia 2018 Fifa World Cup
- Nigeria will be making a sixth appearance in seven finals after a remarkable debut, 24 years ago at USA'94
- The Eagles always progress to the second round if they avoid defeat in the opening fixtures
Nigeria's Super Eagles squad members will on Monday depart their Avita Resort in Bad Tatzmannsdorf, Austria for Russia to participate in the 21st edition of the FIFA World Cup finals which also doubles as Nigeria's sixth appearance in seven finals after making a remarkable debut, 24 years ago at USA'94.
After picking the sole ticket in the supposedly ‘Group of Death’ in the African qualifiers, the Eagles' emerged the first African team to book a passage for the 2018 tournament in Russia.
At the last count, the Gernot Rohr-tutored side have played out seven pre-World Cup games against the likes of Argentina, Poland, Serbia, DR Congo, England and Czech Republic, winning two, drawing one as well as suffering three defeats.
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However, wins over Argentina's La Albiceleste and Poland's White and Reds' were followed by losses to Serbia's Orlovi , a 1-1 draw with the Leopards of Democratic Republic of Congo and 2 defeats by the duo of England's Three Lions and the Czech Republic's Nároďák .
Eagles' Franco-German manager, believes the result is not Nigeria's best going into Russia 2018, but was quick to add over the weekend, just as team's captain Mikel Obi cried out some days ago, that the 'underachievers' tag to the team by fans' will further spur the team to action when hostilities kick-off in Russia.
“We are okay with the garb of the underdog. But the defeats have done something for us – we have our heads firmly on our shoulders and we are focused.
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“Together, we have reviewed the matches and learnt so many lessons. We will approach the World Cup matches differently,” Rohr was quoted as saying by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) official twitter handle.
The Eagles' square up against Croatia's Blazers in their opening game on Saturday, but a pip into the records book suggest that Nigeria have won two opening games at the Mundial, draw one and suffered two defeats.
Furthermore, an interesting fact is that on three previous tournaments that Nigeria did not suffer defeat in the opening fixtures, (1994, 1998, 2014), the Eagles' reached the second round, otherwise known as Round of 16.
“We will take it one match at a time. I love this group because we know how to rise to the occasion together. Nigeria will be ready for Croatia,” added the 53-year-old Rohr, who has only lost one competitive match since joining the Eagles' fold two years ago.
Hopefully, the likes of captain Mikel John Obi, Wilfred Ndidi, Oghenekaro Etebo as well as other star players in camp will help the German boss get his groove back when action commences at the Kaliningrad Arena come Saturday.
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously had reported that Israeli-based Eagles midfielder, John Ogu suffered the air turbulence during Nigeria’s flight from London to Vienna, enroute their Avita Resort training camp in Bad Tatzmannsdorf, Austria.
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Source: Legit.ng
