Coach Augustine Eguavoen says people are once again beginning to respect the Super Eagles following their performance at the group stage of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cameroon.

Eguavoen told journalists during his post-match conference that many people felt that Nigeria was not good enough to win the tournament because of the team’s performance in the last few months.

On Wednesday, Nigeria’s Super Eagles in Garoua advanced in style to the knockout phase of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cameroon.

They beat Guinea-Bissau 2-0 at the Stade Roumde Adjia to become the only side at this 33rd edition of the competition to win their three group games.

“But again, it is the same set of players who performed brilliantly well prior to the AFCON, the last one in Egypt and also a year or couple later. All of a sudden, things didn’t go well as they were supposed to for some reason, and that’s why people were trying to write Nigeria off,” stated Eguavoen.

He added, “For the first game, nobody gave us a chance, but we did the job collectively.”

The Eagles coach disclosed that he told the players to express themselves and be committed. 

“We went ahead to beat Sudan and then put it behind us and then focus on the next game. Now, people are thinking and starting to respect Nigeria,” he noted.

However, he said the team would not allow the praises to get to their head, adding that they would continue to respect their opponents in the tournament.

“We will always respect our opponents, we will play them with full strength, and we will play them the way we play with anybody,” added Eguavoen. “For instance, if you see today’s game and like I said before, Guinea-Bissau is a very strong team. They were no pushovers at all.”

He mentioned that he expected a tough game because the Guinea-Bissau team was physically and technically strong.

“So, they gave us a run for the money, but at the end of the day, we were able to get those two goals, and I am very satisfied with the performance. The most credit must go to the players for doing everything we told them to do,” said Eguavoen. 

(NAN)