Former Nigeria
forward Emmanuel Amuneke has warned the Super Eagles against any form
of complacency in their 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against
South Africa on Wednesday in Cape Town.
Nigeria lost 3-2 to Congo in Calabar on Saturday in
the opening game of their title defence and face a daunting task
against South Africa.
Amuneke, who is currently the head coach of Nigeria's U17 national team told Goal in Calabar, that the Bafana Bafana will present a different challenge in comparison with that of Congo.
The former African footballer of the year said that
Shakes Mashaba's victory away in Sudan and home advantage will be a
great motivation to secure their first ever competitive victory against
the Super Eagles at the Cape Town stadium.
However, he expressed confidence in the ability of
Stephen Keshi's men to bounce back in South Africa, urging them to
approach the game with all seriousness.
"We all saw the game here in Calabar and the truth
of the matter is that everyone was not impressed with the performance of
the boys. Hopefully, in their game on Wednesday against South Africa,
we hope they come up with much better performance," Amuneke told Goal.
"Because they know they need it, if they should lose any more games, it will become a more dificult task for them to qualify.
"Nothing comes easy, you can build your idea on
that you are African champions or defending champions - you must be able
to prepare yourself at any given time and have to approach the game in a
different way," he noted.
"Congo is totally different from South Africa.
South Africa went to Sudan to win 3-0, the confidence will be higher
playing in front of their fans and they will be ready to consolidate on
their qualification.
"But it is important for our boys to realise this and know nobody will dash you anything in football," he concluded.
Nigeria have never been defeated by South Africa in
a competitive match and this record will be put to the test in Cape
Town this evening.
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