By Chidera Akalonu

 

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Despite Nigeria’s 1-0 defeat last Sunday in the first leg of the CHAN 2018 in Cotonou, ex- Flying Eagles goalkeeper, Kola Ige says he’s confident the team will overcome the one goal deficit in Kano and qualify for the tournament.
Skipper Mama Seibou scored from the penalty spot with four minutes left to put Benin Republic on the driving seat of their 2018 African Nations Championship qualifying fixture against Nigeria.
However, Ige told Dailysun sports that the players are very good and still have a chance because their first leg was an away match as he believes the support they will get in Kano will produce a different result from what was seen last time.
“Yes we have a chance in the sense that it was an away game and you can see that the boys were able to hold them till the 89th minutes before they committed the foul which lead to the penalty. So to me I believe that the kind of support we are going to get in Kano would give our players a good advantage to win.
“The boys are good to go but you know they lost some chances in that game too, so if they can convert all those chances in the second leg, I don’t think they will have any problem in Kano. I am happy the game is holding in Kano because the large turn up of fans will motivate them to do better. I still believe they will scale through”.
Nigeria and Benin Republic face off in the return leg in Kano on Saturday, with the overall winners qualifying for the finals taking place 11 January – 2 February 2018 in Kenya.