WCQ 2010 - Africa

Nigeria Coach: We'll Beat Tunisia Home And Away

Nigeria coach Shuaibu Amodu has said his team plan to win their first four qualifying matches, which include home and away games against main rivals Tunisia, so as to ensure they qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Nov 4, 2008 3:50:30 PM

Beijing 2008: Nigeria players celebrates (Mexsport)

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Beijing 2008: Nigeria players celebrates (Mexsport)

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The confident coach insisted: ''My target is to win our first four games and then we are almost through arithmetically.

''With 12 points and two games left, we would have clinched the qualification ticket (from Group Two) because we would have a home game to take us to 15 points.''

The final phase of the qualifiers opens in March 2009, with Nigeria taking on Mozambique in Maputo in the opening match.

Amodu assured that Nigeria will win this game as part of the strategy to win the group, which also comprises Kenya and Tunisia.

''We want to beat Mozambique convincingly with goals to top the table from the blast of the whistle. The Tunisians also have an away game against Kenya and we expect that they would also want to beat the Harambee Stars in Nairobi,” he predicted.

''If they succeed and we too do the same to Mozambique, what would count would be the goals difference,'' he said.

After the game in Maputo, Nigeria will host Kenya, then take on Tunisia first at away before hosting them in Abuja.

Only the overall winner of the group will qualify for the World Cup while the top three teams earn their passage to the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations in Angola.

Samm Audu