Nigeria's new coach Shaibu Amodu has said the Super Eagles could still qualify for 2015 African Nations Cup billed for Morocco despite the very difficult position the Eagles are. Eagles are third in the table below South Africa and Congo with just two matches left in the qualifying series.
Nigeria lost their opening match 3-2 to Congo in Calabar but drew goalless against South Africa in the following match in Cape Town. They fell again 1-0 in the third match against Sudan in Khartoum before the 3-1 win over the same Sudan team in Abuja last week.
Nigeria need to beat Congo by at least a three-goal margin in Brazzaville, when both sides clash on November 15 and then hope for another victory over the South Africans when they visit Uyo on November 19. The Eagles need enough goals to eliminate the Congolese should both sides tie on points at the end of the qualifying series.
But despite the precarious situation the Eagles are facing, Amodu is hopeful that the table can still be turned around.
He said on Sunday, "If Congo came here and scored three goals, nothing stops us going to Congo to score three or more goals. We have done it before. We will do it again."
Perhaps the former Nigeria coach is buoyed by his past records with the team.
In April 2001, the NFA sacked Dutchman Jo Bonfrere after Sierra Leone defeated the country making the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification almost impossible. Amodu, with Stephen Keshi and Joe Erico as his assistants, won all of Nigeria's last three matches of the campaign to book a place in Korea/Japan.
Amodu led the team to beat Liberia 2-0 in Port Harcourt, hammer Sudan 4-0 in Omdurman and dismiss Ghana 3-0 in Port Harcourt to qualify for the World Cup.
In November 2009, Amodu faced the same challenge, when the Super Eagles needed to defeat Kenya in Nairobi and hope Tunisia did not win in Mozambique to reach the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals in South Africa. The Eagles won the match 3-2, and qualified for the World Cup.
On Sunday, AfricanFootball.com reported that the NFF have initiated moves to sound out former Dutch coach Ruud Gullit as the country's new coach.
Amodu will only be in charge of the Eagles for two AFCON qualifiers against Congo and South Africa next month after which the country will hire a foreign coach.
"The Nigerian contacts in Europe are the first to sound out Gullit whether he will be open to handle the Super Eagles and if he would be available. It will be only after this contact that other considerations like the duration of the contract and the personal terms of Gullit would be tabled," an NFF official said.
