ABUJA – Some football enthusiasts on Thursday expressed optimism that Nigeria have a good chance of defeating France in their Round of 16 match at the ongoing FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
In separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, the football enthusiasts advised the Super Eagles’ Head Coach, Stephen Keshi, to improve on the team’s defence and midfield.
The African champions will face the French national team in a Round of 16 match on Monday.
A former footballer, Hamza Baba, said the team’s midfield needed to be worked on, if the Super Eagles were to progress to the quarter-finals stage.
“We stand a chance of progressing, but only if the midfield is improved upon, because it was obvious in the match against Argentina that our midfield was not just it.
“Mikel Obi who ought to be the main man was nowhere to be found throughout the 90 minutes of play.
“So, the team can only get better, because I was impressed with the spirit they put up against Argentina.
“And the French team we have seen so far are good, but beatable,’’ Baba said.
Mansur Abdullahi, the coach of NIMC FC, a Nigeria Nation-Wide League (NNWL) division one clubside, said the Super Eagles were as good as qualifying just like France.
He however said the Nigerian side should step up their game.
“Although the team put up a commendable performance against Argentina, they still have a lot of work to do against France.
“The spirit with which they are playing now is a good one, but they need to improve on it.
“The midfielders did not get it right and the defence was porous.
“You don’t commit infringement in vital areas, because a match can be decided by a free-kick specialist, just like Messi did on Wednesday.
“Now, it is the knockout stage, and we have to make extra efforts because France are also a good side.
“But, it is football, which has advanced beyond one plus one which equals two. For me, one plus one can be equal to 11.
“So, I believe the Eagles can do us proud once again,” Abdullahi said.
A journalist, Patrick Omune, said while the Eagles did well against Argentina, their defence could be better than what it was.
“I hope they will step up in the next match, because they did well in the match against Argentina no doubt, but that was not their best.
“On paper, we don’t stand a chance against France, but football has gone beyond that level.
“So, we still have hopes of progressing. But not if we limit ourselves to the standard with which we played Argentina,’’ Omune said.
NAN recalls that the Super Eagles on Wednesday qualified for the Round of 16 in spite of their 2-3 loss to Argentina in their last Group F match.
France on the other hand had on Wednesday also qualified for the Round of 16 by topping Group E, following a goalless draw with Ecuador.(NAN)