Super Eagles Head Coach, Sunday Oliseh, has declared that he is condemned to winning next month's all-important AFCON 2017 qualifier in Dar es Salaam against Tanzania.
The new Eagles gaffer disclosed this while interacting yesterday with NFF’s official website, thenff.com, ahead of his expected return to the country next week, as preparations hit top gear for the match.
The former Super Eagles’ captain is presently in the United Kingdom with his assistant, Jean Francois.
Loscuito and a number of meetings with senior Nigerian internationals in that country are ongoing.
Coach Oliseh, officially presented on July 15, said he is already working assiduously towards raising a solid squad to pick up three vital points from East Africa in four-and-half weeks’ time.
“The match in Dar es Salaam is very, very crucial, not only because it will be my first match as head coach, but also because we have no choice than to win. The three points are important for us to keep up the tempo in our group,” Oliseh was quoted as saying.
He stressed that the Eagles can’t afford any slip in the AFCON qualification series, which they started on a winning note with a home victory over Chad under former manager, Stephen Keshi.
“We are on the same three points with Egypt, though the team scored a goal more. That is why we can- not afford any slip along the way. We will deal first with the match in Tanzania, and then we will start thinking about the CHAN qualifiers with Burkina Faso in October, and then the World Cup qualifying fixture in November. There is a lot of work. After these matches, we will now start working towards the two AFCON qualifying matches we have with the Pharaohs in March next year,” Oliseh said.
The Super Eagles play Tanzania at the National Stadium, Dar es Salaam on Saturday, 5th September, with an international friendly to fulfill a few days later.