Following the way Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions played at the just-concluded FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia, ex-national team skipper, Chief Olusegun Odegbami, has urged the Super Eagles to prepare for war in their next game in the Russia 2018 World Cup qualifier in Uyo, Akwa Ibom.
According to the former Shooting Stars Football club forward, Nigeria will definitely find it hard to subdue Cameroon in front of their teeming fans.
Odegbami said the Cameroonian team that won the last Africa Cup of Nations tournament recently was different from the team that represented the continent at the FIFA Confederations Cup, stressing that Nigeria need to do a lot work to survive the roaring Lions.
He said, “I had the privilege of watching the FIFA Confederations Cup matches with interest since it started. My main focus has been Cameroon and Germany. Nigeria and Cameroon will be playing in August in two crucial two-legged matches to determine the country that will represent Africa from their group at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. For the Cameroonian team, the Confederations Cup has provided an excellent opportunity to build up their team and amass useful playing time against high level opposition as preparation for the do-or-die match against the Super Eagles of Nigeria.
“Winning the African Cup of Nations earlier in the year and reinforcing that with a competition that is a dress rehearsal of what to expect at the World Cup proper next year, has given the team a psychological boost and a chance to prepare better than they did before their AFCON exploits earlier this year. The team was one of the weakest ever presented in the history of Cameroon at the African Championships and winning the competition seemed more a commentary on the declining level of African football at national team level than confirmation of their status as best in the continent,” he said.
He said because many African players ply their trade in the European leagues and there is little time to build solid national teams, countries were more often forced to settle for hurriedly assembled players who come together for a few days and attempt to play like a team.
Odegbami added, “We do not see the best of African football on display anymore and that perhaps explains why Cameroon struggled through all their matches and still ended up as champions of Africa! Between then and now, the Confederations Cup had provided the team an invaluable opportunity to blend more before confronting Nigeria, a team that is also struggling psychologically and technically to recover from the humiliating defeat on home ground by South Africa’s Bafana Bafana a few weeks ago.
“That is why the World Cup qualifier between Nigeria and Cameroon will be ‘war’. The Confederations Cup is a big boost for the Cameroon. They played extremely well, and advertised African football as full of physicality, pace and raw power. How the Nigerian team will respond to this much improved Cameroon national team that will be playing with greater confidence, will be the ultimate test and will determine their fate in the 2018 World Cup quest. Cameroon’s exploits in Russia now mean that they pose a much bigger threat to Nigeria than earlier this year when they came out of a slump to become African champions.”
With crisis brewing in the Nigerian team, former Green Eagles Captain, Christian Chukwu, wants Gernot Rohr to give the team a new approach in making it formidable and strong to stand the test of time against Cameroon.
Chukwu said Cameroon will prepare to beat Nigeria at home and away to restore the hope of returning to Russia for the World Cup proper.
