Former Abia State Governor, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu, has charged the Super Eagles to go all out and beat the Lions of Cameroon in the decisive second round encounter of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations taking place in Egypt.
Eagles after recording 1-0 victory in their first two games fell 2-0 to Madagascar to concede leadership in the group, hence, the crunch fixture which is looking like a semi or final match of the competition.
Kalu, Chief Whip of the Nigerian Senate noted that any match between Nigeria and Cameroon is always tough.
He said: “We’ve always had it tough in this fixture, and coming this early in the Nations Cup makes it dicey because a winner must emerge.
“One big team must fall now and Eagles must be focused to come up with strong mentality and the can-do spirit of the average Nigerian.”
Cameroon on three occasions defeated Nigeria in the final AFCON (1984, 1988 and 2000). That of 2000 was most painful because it happened before Nigerian home fans on February 13, 2000, at the National Stadium in Lagos. In recent time, however, the Eagles have the edge. In 2004, Austin Jay Jay Okocha spearheaded an amazing 2-1 defeat of the Indomitable Lions in a quarter final match at the Stade Mustapha Ben Jannet in Monastir, Tunisia and in a recent 2018 FIFA World Cup African qualifying series, the Super Eagles whipped the Lions 4-0 in Uyo and were forced to a 1-1 draw in Yaounde.
The Pillar of Sports in Africa, said the Eagles must maintain the recent results recorded against the Lions.
“We used to lose to Cameroon, but we have the upper hand in recent time. The coach must ensure the team is solid in all departments. The talents are there to play in the final of the 2019 AFCON, but they must work very hard to make the fans of the game proud in Nigeria,” Kalu added.
The Eagles, Lions game is billed to kick off in Alexandria, today, at 5pm Nigerian time.