Sports minister, Sunday Akinlabi Dare has warned the Super Eagles’ players, coaches and official as well as all Nigerian football fans not to get carried away by two straight victories for the team in the Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifiers, as the ticket is still a long way off.
Speaking against the backdrop of the Eagles’ 2-1 win away to Cape Verde on Tuesday, which was their second straight haul of maximum points in the first two matches of the qualifiers, Dare admitted he was truly delighted with the result, but stressed that it is still early days.
He went on to commend the players and their coaches for getting the job done in Cape Verde, while also commending Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) for ensuring adequate welfare, good logistics and tight anti-coronavirus measures were taken for the Eagles’ persecution of the game.
Megasportsarena.com reports that Dare enthused in a statement: “Congratulations to Nigeria, congratulations to all Nigerians and the Super Eagles. The team has made us proud once again.
“I salute everyone for the roles they played. The NFF ensured the team travelled in comfort and the coaches had to overcome a lot of setbacks owing to the COVID-19.
“In the game we had to dress only nineteen players as against the twenty three allowed by FIFA for World Cup qualifiers, added to this, we had to fight from a goal down to snatch all three points at stake.
“In spite of this victory, I will like to charge everyone that the journey to Qatar is still a long one. We must keep fighting and working hard until the World Cup ticket is firmly in our hands.”
