The Super Eagles earned passage to the quarter final through two late penalty goals courtesy of Victor Moses
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The Chipolopolo went into the game level on points with Nigeria, who went through to the last eight after a 2-0 win over Ethiopia in the other Group C game
Nigeria had to wait till the last game to secure qualification after it drew the first two group matches one goal apiece
This time, the Super Eagles must win their confrontation with the Walya Antelopes of Ethiopia in Rustenburg on Tuesday to be assured of a place in the tournament quarter finals. The clash between holders Zambia and Burkina Faso, which will determine the other qualifier from Group C, takes place simultaneously, in Nelspruit
Abdulahi, who has refused to leave South Africa despite his tight schedule back home, said on Monday morning that he will go nowhere until Nigeria reaches the knock-out stages of the tournament, from where he assured that the team will now start excelling
Addressing the players at the team’s evening training in Rustenberg, South Africa on Sunday evening, Keshi said the team may have been hard done by some calls by officiating officials but they should learn to finish games well and with wide margins before such calls are made
A draw could still get Nigeria into the last eight, provided Burkina Faso’s Etalons overpower the defending champions in the other game of Group C at Mbombela Stadium same day, but Green is averse to such negative thinking and voodoo mathematics
Burkina Faso now leads the group after garnering four points from two games, while Nigeria and Zambia, who drew one all in the earlier match of Friday, are joint second with two points apiece
In an effort to motivate the team, Amaechi, prior to the kick off of the match, promised a personal reward of $100,000 to the Eagles if they beat the defending champions
On the penalty miss by Mikel Obi, the Super Eagles handler said that the Chelsea player should not be crucified
The former international said that he had expected the coaches to tighten the back line after shooting into the lead rather than opting for attacking pattern against the defending champions
The ex-international however admitted that he held a meeting with his employers after the game which ended 1-1
Super Eagles Head Coach, Stephen Keshi, has said the team is calm and ready for Friday’s crunch battle against defending…
The former Arsenal striker, who described the draw against the Burkina Faso as painful, however, sounded optimistic on the chances of the team to progress to the next stage
The last time Ethiopia competed at the AFCON finals was in 1982 when they also faced Zambia and Nigeria in the group stages
Obi, who was named Man of The Match, said he preferred the three points to being so named and assured Nigerians that the Eagles will be back and better in the game against Zambia on Friday
The former international, who was among the guest analysts on Supersport, believes the Super Eagles may have blown the chance of qualifying for the quarterfinals of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa with the draw against Burkina Faso
Keshi said in spite of the draw against the not highly rated Burkina Faso team, the spirit of the Super Eagles and the coaching crew will not be dampened
Nigeria dominated the first half but failed to convert the chances
The former Super Eagles captain was speaking at the pre-game press conference, when he outlined what he suspects the Burkinabes will do and explained how he planned to counter it