CHAN Qualifiers: Despite injury, Eagles coach optimistic as Ghana coach berates Nigeria attackers
The Nigeria team that will go out on Saturday may not be radically different from the line-up that featured in the first leg
CHAN Eagles coach Salisu Yusuf is optimistic that Our Boys will overturn the two goals deficit they suffered in Ghana and qualify for African Nations Championship (CHAN) playoff clash against Ghana this Saturday.
Yusuf said the injury to one of the key players Sadiq Abubakar in the first leg at the Cape Coast Sports Stadium last Sunday will not stop the team from beating Ghana on Saturday.
Yusuf said doctors will examine Abubakar before the match.“The doctors will assess Sadiq to see if he can play in the game, but we will also look at other options and work out a strategy that will give us victory”.
Yusuf, who led the Class of 2018 to a second-place finish in the final tournament in Morocco, said that the team’s concentration is on how to score enough goals to overturn the deficit incurred in the away leg.
“What is past is past and that is the case with the match we played in Ghana. Now we are looking forward to a good match on Saturday.
“We are doing all we need to do to achieve our utmost desire to be in Algeria next year. There may have been one or two lapses that caught us on the bad end in Cape Coast but we can’t continue to dwell on that. We want to achieve a good result on Saturday.”
Yusuf, who is on a very familiar terrain, says that the team that will go out on Saturday may not be radically different from the line-up he featured in the first leg.
“It is going to be more like 88 to 90 percent of the team we presented in Ghana last Sunday. Remember that Abubakar was injured in a moment we thought should have produced a penalty kick for us. He has not recovered fully and so may not feature.”
The winner on aggregate will qualify for Algeria 2023.
Meanwhile, Black Galaxies coach, Annor Walker has stated that the Super Eagles B team lack attacking bite.
Walker who spoke ahead of the return leg in Abuja ruled out Nigeria’s comeback chances, disclosing that his team will adopt a different approach in the match
The team had a positive game, especially a good second half that saw them beat Nigeria by 2-0 in Cape Coast Township Stadium.
The Ghanaian gaffer has totally ruled out a possible comeback or possible qualification for the Super Eagles as he claims that the Nigerian team lacks what it takes to make a dramatic comeback as the team lacks threat in the attack.
The gaffer has a very high confidence level as he feels there is no comeback for the Super Eagles.
”It will not be possible,” he stated when asked if the Nigerians would turn around the table.
“I have not seen any threat in the attack on Nigeria. And I have seen the way they play. We will also strategized for it and when we get to Nigeria, it’s going to be another strategy we will use to approach the game. We are not coming to Nigeria to lose, so we will not be able to qualify.
“We are going to Nigeria for sure to qualify for CHAN next year.”
The Black Galaxies won the first leg encounter against Nigeria in Cape Coast, thanks to a penalty by Daniel Afriyie and a late goal by Suraj Seidu which has given the Ghanaians an edge over their Nigerian counterparts
