CHAN: Yusuf seeks to ‘regain confidence’ as Eagles face Libya test

Having drawn their opening match at the African Nations Championship (CHAN), Nigeria’s head coach, Salisu Yusuf says the Super Eagles have to win their second game to regain confidence for the rest of the tournament.

The Eagles kicked off their 2018 CHAN campaign with a goalless draw against Rwanda last Monday and are set to play their second group game against Libya today (Friday).

Libya currently lead Group C after their opening day 3-0 win over Equatorial Guinea.

Salisu however thinks his side’s result against Rwanda is not bad, and that the team’s performance, if replicated and mixed with luck, will see them edge Libya in the encounter billed for the Grand Stade de Tangier.

“We drew a draw against Rwanda and I think that’s not a bad result. We played well in that game but luck was not on our side,” the Coach said during the pre-match conference in Morocco.

“We missed a lot of goal scoring chances, but we have to win against Libya to regain our confidence.

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“And for that, we must dare and create opportunities to score. Given our performance against Rwanda, I am optimistic we can beat this Libyan team.”

Also speaking at the conference, the team’s captain, Ikechukwu Ezenwa said they are “focused on the match” and “aiming for victory to have a better chance of qualifying to the next round.”

“We are here in Morocco representing the 180 million Nigerians,” he said.

“We will try to do our best to honour them and make them happy. We have forgotten about the draw against Rwanda and we feel no pressure. I can even assure you that we have adapted to the weather conditions. It’s not a problem anymore.”

The Super Eagles, who finished as second runners-up in 2014 when Libya won the Championship, failed to make it past the group stages in Rwanda 2016.

They will face Libya tonight with the hope of securing a victory, as anything short could put the team out of balance.

The game will be played today by 5:30p.m (Nigeria time).

 

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