Nigeria prepare for Sunday’s Confederations Cup Group B match against Spain at the Arena Castelao in Fortaleza, Brazil.
Having begun their Confederations Cup campaign with a 6-1 victory over Tahiti last Monday, Nigeria were brought down to earth three days later by Uruguay, who beat them 2-1 in Salvador.
Now the ‘Super Eagles’ need to get a result in their final match – against European and World champions Spain – in order to qualify for the semi-finals.
Nigeria held their official training session ahead of the Spain clash at the Arena Castelao in Fortaleza on Saturday and were in bullish mood, despite having to go into the game without injured Lazio midfielder Ogenyi Onazi.
Nigeria head coach Stephen Keshi said he has plenty of respect for their opposition.
Stephen Keshi, Nigeria head coach:“It’s two teams that are playing and one has to win. There are three things happening in the game: Win, draw or lose. So, I don’t know what results will show up. We have two good teams playing. It’s true that we have a lot of respect to Spain, they are World Champions, European Champions. We are also African Champions. And Africa is a great continent to become a champion. So, a little respect for us, at least! So, if we are going to beat Spain tomorrow, it’s just because we are good (enough) to win the game.”
Keshi’s men almost missed the competition altogether by arriving in Brazil only one day before their opening match as a result of a threatened player strike over bonus payments.
