Super Eagles boss, Eric Chelle, has urged his players to approach Saturday’s World Cup qualifier against Rwanda’s Amavubi with high intensity, stressing that the team’s full attention is fixed on the crucial encounter.
The West African giants will be aiming for their second victory of the campaign when they face Adel Amrouche’s team at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo.
Chelle on the challenge ahead
“Rwanda is a good team with a good coach. We can’t underrate them. We have our plan on how to stop them,” Chelle said during a press briefing on Friday.
“I want my players to focus only on this game, and not the next game against South Africa. We must also not think about the World Cup at the moment.
“The focus for us is to take it one game at a time, and not overthink things.”
Nigeria’s attacking concerns
Despite their array of forwards, the Super Eagles have only managed seven goals in six qualifying matches so far.
Chelle acknowledged the team’s struggles in front of goal but stressed the need for an aggressive start.
“Football is like that, sometimes you will do your best, and the ball will not go in. We have seen a lot of games this week where similar things happen,” the Malian tactician noted.
“What I can only tell my players is to play with intensity. We want to take control of the game from the first minute.
“The most important thing is what we do in the opening five, 10, 15 minutes. We also must be in the right state of mind to achieve our objective.”
Camp update and preparation
The Super Eagles regrouped in camp on Tuesday to fine-tune strategies ahead of the decisive clash. Chelle expressed confidence in the team’s build-up and hinted at last-minute decisions on the lineup.
“The preparation has been good. All the players here are good enough to play on start. We have one more training session, and will decide after that the players that will start,” he explained.