CHAN 2018: Ezenwa says Eagles are ready to take on Africa
Nigeria’s Super Eagles B squad has been involved indifferent phases of preparation for the 5th African
Nations Championship taking place in Morocco
13th January – 4th February 2018.
Part of the team’s preparation included participation in
the WAFU Cup of Nations tournament which took place
in Cape Coast, Ghana in September 2017 (where the
team finished as runner –up), participation in the
glamour Nigeria Professional Football League Super
Six tournament in Kano in December 2017 (which it
won) and a series of friendly matches during the last
phase of camping in the Federal Capital Territory,
Abuja.
Captain of the team, Ikechukwu Ezenwa bared his mind
to thenff.com on the team’s preparation and what to
expect at the tournament.
Excerpts:
Thenff.com : How has the preparation for the African
Nations Championship been so far?
Ezenwa : The preparation has been going on well. We
have been playing some friendly games and I must
say it has been good preparation all round.
The camping here in Nigeria is coming to an end we
are in good shape to continue the next face of
preparation in Morocco ahead of our first match.
Thenff.com : What is the team’s target for the CHAN?
Ezenwa : First of all, we are going to take each game
as it comes; we have had very good preparation so far
and the unity in the team is awesome and with that, I
am confident of a better outing than the last time in
Rwanda.
Thenff.com : Are you bothered about your other
opponents in Group C?
Ezenwa : Rwanda, Libya and Equatorial Guinea are very
good sides when it comes to the CHAN tournament.
Look at the last edition, Rwanda were very tough and
they performed better than us.
Libya are former champions so they are no
newcomers to the competition and for Equatorial
Guinea, they will be coming with the bunch of players
that played the World Cup qualifiers for them, so to be
honest, it’s going to be a very tough group for us but
we are up to the task.
Thenff.com : Do you think the Home-Based lads can
force their way to the FIFA World Cup squad through
their performance at the CHAN tournament?
Ezenwa : I think any player that does very well will
have an opportunity because the Technical Adviser,
Mr. Gernot Rohr will be in Morocco with us just like
he was with us in Ghana where some players who did
well were invited for the FIFA World Cup qualifier
against Zambia.
So, I strongly believe anyone who proves himself well
will definitely get a look-in, but the most important
thing for us right now is to go to Morocco and do the
nation proud by winning the trophy.