Former Nigeria international and assistant coach of the Golden Eaglets, Emmanuel Amuneke, has stated that the first leg between Nigeria and Ethiopia in Addis Ababa in the 2014 FIFA World Cup play-offs will determine if the coach Stephen Keshi led side will be in Brazil next year.
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The Super Eagles were drawn against Ethiopia in the draws held yesterday at CAF headquarters, in Cairo, Egypt; and in a chat with Complete Sports, the 1994 African Footballer of the Year said:
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"It is a very interesting draw. On paper, one can say it's going to be an easy game for Nigeria but we must take into consideration the fact that Ethiopia has progressed in the past few years. And for them to reach this group stage, it shows that they have what it takes to be one of the teams that can create an upset," he began.
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"We are playing the first game away and a lot of things have to be considered like the high altitude in Ethiopia. I think the preparation and the seriousness in the first leg will be very important because it will be the key and the deciding factor. It is now left for us not to build our previous achievements on the present challenges that we are going to face," he said.
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Speaking further on the draws, he said: "If you consider Ghana and Egypt, we should count ourselves lucky and I don't see why we should be complaining. But like I said earlier, we can't disrespect Ethiopia; we saw what they did at the last Nations Cup which is an indication that their football is also growing. So we must take that into account and work very hard."