Ethiopia game won’t be easy, Akanni warns Eagles

Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi
| credits: File copy

Former international, Waidi Akanni, has warned the Super Eagles not to celebrate yet until they beat the Walya Antelopes of Ethiopia in their 2014 World Cup qualifying playoff next month.

Nigeria, who were seeded by CAF in the draw on Monday, got what many pundits described as “an easy draw” after being pitted against Ethiopia. But Akanni, a former Lagos FA chairman, said the first leg, scheduled for Addis Ababa, may not be as easy as it appears on paper.

Nigeria beat Ethiopia 2-0 in their last meeting at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa, but before then the Walya Antelopes had held the Super Eagles to a 2-2 draw in an AFCON qualifier in Addis Ababa in 2011.

“Ethiopia look easy on paper but Nigeria’s victory depends on the preparation coach Stephen Keshi has with the team. The preparation will determine if we’ll go past Ethiopia. I’m convinced we can beat them if the Super Eagles are disciplined by reporting for camping early and building team spirit among the players,” Akanni said.

“Playing against the Walya Antelopes in Ethiopia will not be easy, but the last game in Addis Ababa had a few dramatic turns which were responsible for the draw. I’m sure Keshi has identified the errors and we hope they won’t come up again at this crucial stage.

“The Ethiopians have improved a lot in recent time so it’ll be difficult to say Nigeria will beat them on their home soil. It would be interesting, however, to see Nigeria pick a point in Addis Ababa before coming home to finish the job.

“Keshi will need to watch some recent games involving Ethiopia to determine what formation he’ll adopt in Addis Ababa. I think he adopted an offensive formation against Malawi in Calabar because he wanted to win. It was this attacking formation that forced the Malawians back.”

After watching the Federation Cup final between Enyimba and Warri Wolves on Sunday, Akanni was confident the Nigeria Premier League has quality players that can play in the national team.

He said, “I think it’d be difficult for Keshi to know precisely who will be good enough (from the Federation Cup final) to play in the national team; he’ll only have this opportunity when camping begins ahead of the Ethiopia game.

“Some players are tournament players, while others will only shine in a few games. Besides, there are equally good players in other clubs that might catch Keshi’s attention before the camping starts.”