Barea of Madagascar coach, Nicolas Dupuis has admitted that their last group match against Nigeria at this year’s Africa Cup of Nations will be tough for his side, because he admits they will be up against a very formidable opposition, megasportsarena.com reports.
Although Dupuis admits he is overjoyed that his team recorded their first ever AFCON win on Thursday, when they beat Burundi 1-0 in Alexandria, Egypt, to follow-up on a shock 2-2 draw with Guinea in their opening game last Saturday, he fears they may have a different story to tell after battling Nigeria at same venue on Sunday.
The Indian Ocean island nation defeated Burundi via a fantastic 76th-minute free-kick from Marco Ilaimaharita in their second Group B game, a day after Madagascar celebrated their 59th Independence Day, and Dupuis says he would love to continue the fairy-tale run with another historic result against Nigeria’s Super Eagles.
However, after seeing off what he referred to as tough challenges from Guinea and Burundi, Dupuis confessed that Nigeria will be tougher, even as he is assured of handling his team in the round of 16.
Madagascar are second in Group B with four points after two matches, two points behind the pool leaders, Nigeria, and Dupuis says he is proud of his lads’ efforts so far, but says there remains a huge task of withstanding the Eagles on Sunday.
Dupuis said: “It was not an easy match because Burundi gave us a tough time especially in the second half.
“We can be proud of our efforts, we can be proud of what we achieved but the work is not yet over. We still have Nigeria to think about.”
