Posted by By Tony Ubani on
Dutch tactician, Clemens Westerhof, believes that the Super Eagles are still capable of qualifying for the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany if they maintain the strong character they exhibited against Algeria in Oran on Sunday night.
Dutch tactician, Clemens Westerhof, believes that the Super Eagles are still capable of qualifying for the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany if they maintain the strong character they exhibited against Algeria in Oran on Sunday night.
Westerhof, who guided the Super Eagles to their first World Cup appearance in USA 1994, made this observation yesterday, a day after the Austin Eguavoen-led side, mauled Algeria 5-2 in Oran, to further boost their chances of playing at the World Cup.
The Dutchman, while appraising the performance of the Eagles, said they impressed him with their fighting spirit, precise ball coordination and unrivalled hunger to win away from home.
'Those guys really played football and they deserve to be at the World Cup if they maintain the spirit and character that they showed in their match against the Algerians, who were no pushovers at all but the Eagles were just dominant in their approach to the game from the blast of the whistle, even though they seemed to loose concentration in the second half because of the red card given to John Utaka.
'The World Cup race is still wide open to the Eagles because the Angolans can be beaten by Rwanda but the Eagles must keep up the momentum by beating Zimbabwe. They are not out of it at all but all hands must be on deck to make them reach the World Cup finals in Germany", added Westerhof.
Commenting on the contribution of West Brom star, Nwankwo Kanu, to the triumph of the Eagles, the Technical Director of the School of Soccer Excellence in Kwara State, awarded Kanu the Man of the Match.
'His introduction brought a new direction to the match and he just played some great football, pushing his teammates to do the extra which was needed to win the match. He made me proud and so did the other players because it takes two to tango and they have to keep the fire burning until they reach Germany 2006", said Westerhof.
He also lauded the substitutions made by Eguavoen, noting that 'those substitutions were timely and decisive. Eguavoen showed that with time, he would mould a team that we all can be proud of. But Westerhof said for that to happen the attitude of government and soccer officials must change for the better of Nigerian soccer.
In his words, 'the attitude of those in government towards sports, especially football, must change. They must stop payng lip-service to the game, rather, they must care for the needs of the team, motivate the players and always put the collective good of Nigerian soccer ahead of their own needs."