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Lastest News Nigeria, Politics, Business, Sport, Interview
Lastest News Nigeria, Politics, Business, Sport, Interview
By: Ayobami Victor Awoleye
Bafana Bafana defeated the hosts Egypt on Saturday to silence many football punters who believed the Pharaohs were destined to beat South Africa and meet the Eagles at the Cairo International Stadium on Wednesday.
Agu noted that the Eagles must be willing to give all they have just as they did against Cameroon to advance to the semi-final and past results against Bafana will have no bearing on the outcome.
“Football has gone beyond what it used to be before,” Agu told The Premier News.
“Before it was predictable to tell the outcome of some matches before they come up but it is not the same today. It is the side with better preparations, determination and tactics along with hard work that gets to win.
“Yes we lost to Madagascar but we are through to the quarter-final now. We tried out a few new things against them but it didn’t work out well.
“We knew what was at stake against Cameroon and can see the result yourself. The players came all out to play and they gave their best to ensure that the defending champion is eliminated.”
The former Eagles goalkeeper stressed that the unexpected results in Egypt do not surprise him and that Nigeria must show the willingness to advance beyond this stage.
“I am not surprised at the wave of unexpected results in the second round of the Africa Cup of Nations.,” he said.
“I told our head coach, Gernot Rohr, that all the teams that qualified for the second round have the potential to make it to the quarter-final irrespective of the opponents they are facing. When I see Benin Republic, Madagascar and South Africa making it to the last eight I noted that they must have worked very hard to get here.
“We have played South Africa before and they have improved better than the last time we played against them. We cannot rely on our previous results with them because this is a different game entirely. We must be highly motivated and ensure that we play with fewer errors.”
