THERE is panic everywhere ahead of Sunday’s quarterfinal encounter between the Super Eagles and Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire here in Rustenburg. But one man who is not feeling the pressure is ex-Eagles striker, Nwankwo Kanu.
Kanu who is with the team here in Rustenburg, told The Guardian at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium that the present Ivorien team was beatable saying: “The Eagles have this game because if you look at the Elephants team, virtually all the players are known. They are established players unlike the Nigerian team that is dominated by many unknown players. Our boys are good and if they can show high level of determination on Sunday, I see them beating the Elephants and progress to the semifinal. Like I said, our boys are not known and that makes it a bit difficult for the Elephants to understand them.
Reminded of the presence of the likes of Didier Drogba, Yaya Toure, Emmanuel Eboue and Bony Wilfried, Solomon Kalou and others in the Elephants squad, Kanu said: “They are equally established players in the Eagles like Joseph Yobo, Mikel Obi, Vincent Enyeama and Ike Uche. In the game of football, we don’t consider that aspect alone. You have to consider a number of factors and as an ex player, I have put those factors together and my conclusion is that the Elephants are beatable on Sunday. We have to pray for our boys to do the job so that we can progress to the semifinal.”
On two occasions at Egypt 2006 and Ghana 2008 editions of the Nations Cup, the Eagles have suffered in the hands of Drogba and his teammates.
To Kanu, Sunday’s game here at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium should put a stop to that. “We have to be optimistic that the Eagles can do it this time around.”