Coach Fanny Amun has urged Super Eagles not to underrate South African counterparts in their semifinal match of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Côte d’Ivoire.
He gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Lagos.
He applauded the performance of the Super Eagles, saying the team had improved with each match played.
“I hope they consolidate on it and not underrate any team in the semi-final game. The past of the two teams does not really matter, with each match I’ve seen improvement.
“We should be prepared to give the match with South Africa our best, we shouldn’t underrate any team that has made it to the semi-finals.
“The two teams are in the semi-finals and I know that a team must win and a team must lose.
“There must be a winner. Let’s cross this semi-final bridge first then from there we will see how it goes.
“But I can tell you the finals will be very exciting; this year’s edition of AFCON has been filled with pleasant surprises,” he said.
On whether the Super Eagles had met the expectations of Nigerians, he said he was not in the habit of making predictions as a football administrator.
“First and foremost I’ve never been one of those doubting Thomases that predicted if Nigeria would do well or not, because I’m not a soothsayer.
“I never knew they would do well. Normally people love to predict but I have always known that you can’t predict any game.
“The beginning was rough. Toward AFCON qualifiers, those matches that they played in Uyo and outside Uyo were difficult; you don’t blame the fans for criticising the team.
“If the expectation was high they probably would have done badly, but the expectation was low; now they have performed beyond expectation,” Amun said.
South Africa defeated the Cape Verde’s national team 2-1 on penalties, after the quarter-final match ended 0-0 in 120 minutes
