Former Nigeria defender Yisa Shofoluwe believes that the country's World Cup qualifier opponents Kenya will give the African champions a tough game in March in Calabar. He spoke with Kayode Ogunbanwo...
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Nigeria will face Kenya next month in a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier, what is your advice for the Super Eagles?
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It's going to be a tense game for the two sides, no doubt about that; but I will advise the Super Eagles not to allow their recent achievement at AFCON to get into their heads by thinking they have arrived.
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They should know that the World Cup ticket is what everybody is expecting from them right now. So they need to take that game seriously and go for outright victory, at least to prove that they are truly African champions. That game will be vital in their quest for qualification and we really need to beat them both home and away.
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With Nigeria emerging as the current champions of Africa, do you think that the Super Eagles should have the Kenyans as easy prey?
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Beating Kenya may not be all that easy for the Eagles. The Kenyans are aware of the outstanding performance of the Super Eagles at the just concluded AFCON and the Harambee Stars also know that our boys will be under immense pressure to deliver and they would be well prepared to give our team a run for their money.
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What do you think should be Eagles' approach for that match having played the game at the highest level?
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It is the coach that can adopt the best strategy but he must have seen many tapes of the Kenyans previous games and finding a strategy to curtail them may not be a big problem for him. All the same, the Kenyans that I know from time are always very strong and competitive in any sport they participate in. They always have good stamina and they can go the extra mile through sheer strength and raw energy. They can play for very long without getting tired and the best way to overpower them is to play free- flowng football and try to stretch them. With that, I think we won't have much problem beating them.
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How would you describe the performance of the team at AFCON and do you think this team have played up to their potential?
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Well, the good thing about this team is that the more they play together, the better they understand themselves. That is an indication that with time, this team will go places if well managed. I am also sure that they are yet to reach the standard their coaches led by Stephen Keshi are aiming and it is my fervent hope that they will be more imperious as time goes on and we will see a team that we can put our money on to deliver in some years to come. They did well against some tough teams at AFCON but I think they still have some points to prove both in the qualifiers and the Confederations Cup.
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Are you recommending a friendly match to be played before the qualifier?
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Well, that would largely depend on FIFA schedules.
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But personally, I would love a situation whereby Eagles are engaged in at least two friendly games before the qualifier because this would enable them to be more cohesive and even perform better than they did in AFCON.
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The Super Eagles are now the darling of Nigerian soccer fans after their successful AFCON outing, do you think the support and reward they are getting presently will rob on them to go all out and take the Kenyans to the cleaners in Calabar when they regroup next month?
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Definitely, it would be a very nice thing if that venue is fully packed with spectators because psychologically, it will boost the morale of the players to give their very best. I would advise the players to also pay back the soccer fans with quality display on that day being their first game as African champions.
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And irrespective of how many spectators manage to find their ways into the stadium, they should just have it at the back of their mind that Nigerians are fully behind them and if you put on that national jersey, it's always a thing of honour, you must put in your best because that was how we did it in our own times.
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Do you think Keshi should stick with those players he took to the Nations Cup to prosecute the upcoming qualifiers or some players still need to be injected into the team?
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Let me tell you this: anybody can be called into the team. The team does not belong to certain players and if the coach feels some players need to be invited into the team, all well and good. As long as they possess the fighting spirit that can help the team attain greater heights. He is the coach he knows what to do to improve his team.