Daily Independent (Lagos)
George Akpayen
3 July 2009
Lagos — Former Nigeria junior international, Peter Nieketien, has advised the players and coaches of the Super Eagles not to be carried away by the goalless score-line with Tunisia's Carthage Eagles in last month's 2010 World Cup qualifiers in Tunis.
In a chat with Daily Independent, Nieketien called on the Super Eagles to halt the celebration on the goalless draw in Tunis, as it does not guarantee a World Cup place next year in South Africa.
Nieketien, 40, believes that the Super Eagles still has a lot of work to do, if it wants to beat the North African nation to the sole World Cup ticket in its group.
The former Flying Eagles' star pointed out that the World Cup qualifier against Tunisia in Abuja, on September 6, should not be viewed as the decider, since the Nigerian national team would still make a trip to Nairobi to face the Harambee Stars of Kenya.
"I have read that our boys celebrated the goalless draw against Tunisia. I don't think this is the time to celebrate such a result since the World Cup qualifier is still ongoing. No doubt, the return match against Tunisia in Abuja is important, but our players should know that they will still play away in Nairobi," he said.
Nieketien is concerned with the poor form of the Super Eagles since the start of the second and final phase of the World Cup qualifier, and believes that winning the game against Kenya is a must.
He explained that if Tunisia could win in Nairobi, then the Super Eagles is condemned to replicate the feat of the North African against Kenya.
"Nigeria must win in Nairobi if it wants to qualify for the World Cup. This also means that the country must also win against Tunisia and Mozambique. It is important to win in Kenya, because Tunisia won there and the Tunisians would know that they need to pick a draw in Nigeria and try to win in Mozambique so that they can qualify," Nieketien, who now holds a UEFA B Level 3 diploma, said.
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