Daniel Amokachi
While speaking during an interview on BBC programme, ‘Focus on Africa’, retired Nigeria international footballer, Daniel Amokachi, disclosed that the Super Eagles are good enough to become world champions at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
In five outings at the World Cup, the Super Eagles have only reached the Round of 16 on three occasions (USA 1994, France 1998 and Brazil 2014).
Amokachi who was a member of the Super Eagles squad to the 1994 and 1998 World Cups, said that African teams must aspire to challenge for the World Cup rather than just participate.
He said; “Will Nigeria get out of that group (2018 World Cup Group D)? Yes. Will Nigeria go far in the World Cup? Yes. Will Nigeria be able to win the World Cup? Yes.
“Africans have to start believing. They have to go past that stage of “your country got to the Second Round, your country got to the Quarter-finals”. No, I’m going to a major tournament to go and win it.
“If we had that mentality, we will go a very long way. And that was what killed us when we were there in 1994, that’s what killed Cameroon when they were there in 1990 and that’s what killed Senegal in 2002. Because they are just going there to have fun instead of “we are going there to win it”.”
The Super Eagles who will be making their sixth appearance at the FIFA World Cup at this summer’s edition since debuting in USA 1994, are drawn in Group D along with Argentina, Croatia and Iceland at the 2018 World Cup,
The team took on Czech Republic in their final warm up game in Austria today (Wednesday) and lost 1-0. They will before flying out to Russia for the World Cup.