Former
Nigeria forward Emmanuel Amuneke has warned the Super Eagles against
any form of complacency in their 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier
against South Africa on Wednesday in Cape Town.
Nigeria
lost 3-2 to Congo in Calabar on Saturday in the opening game of their
title defence and face a daunting task against South Africa.
Amuneke,
who is currently the head coach of Nigeria’s U17 national team told Goal
in Calabar, that the Bafana Bafana will present a different challenge
in comparison with that of Congo.
The former
African footballer of the year said that Shakes Mashaba’s victory away
in Sudan and home advantage will be a great motivation to secure their
first ever competitive victory against the Super Eagles at the Cape Town
stadium.
However,
he expressed confidence in the ability of Stephen Keshi’s men to bounce
back in South Africa, urging them to approach the game with all
seriousness.
“We all
saw the game here in Calabar and the truth of the matter is that
everyone was not impressed with the performance of the boys. Hopefully,
in their game on Wednesday against South Africa, we hope they come up
with much better performance,” Amuneke told Goal.
“Because they know they need it, if they should lose any more games, it will become a more dificult task for them to qualify.
“Nothing
comes easy, you can build your idea on that you are African champions or
defending champions – you must be able to prepare yourself at any given
time and have to approach the game in a different way,” he noted.
“Congo is
totally different from South Africa. South Africa went to Sudan to win
3-0, the confidence will be higher playing in front of their fans and
they will be ready to consolidate on their qualification.
“But it is important for our boys to realise this and know nobody will dash you anything in football,” he concluded.
Nigeria
have never been defeated by South Africa in a competitive match and this
record will be put to the test in Cape Town this evening.
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