Stephen Keshi: We are in Namibia to win...

Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi has said that his team will confront Namibia in Wednesday’s World Cup qualifier with the aim of winning their second consecutive game on the road. The Nigerian trainer said he was impressed with the Namibian team after their first round World Cup qualifier in Calabar last year. The Brave Warriors managed to keep the Super Eagles at bay for most of the match, before Ikechukwu Uche scored the lone goal 10 minutes from time.

“Namibia has some very good players, and it is a good team,” Keshi said.

Regarding the sudden resignation of Namibian coach Roger Palmgren, Keshi said it should not have a big influence on the game.

“I’m not in a position to know how it will affect the Namibian players, but I want to imagine if my coach leaves before a crucial game, the morale of the team might be down a bit. But the good thing is that he hasn’t been long with the players I think it was about a month or so and it’s not as if he has been around for six months or a year - so that might not be too heavy for the players,” he said.

Keshi said their preparations were on track although he was not impressed with the cold conditions.

“We tried to prepare ourselves but the weather is very cold. I would think this is winter time in Namibia, but we’ll get used to it when the game comes on Wednesday. Most of the boys are used to it so it’s not a big thing,” he said.

In the day's other game, Malawi host Kenya in Blantyre as they seek to better their fortunes after drawing against Namibia last week. Malawi are second on the table with six points while bottom-placed Kenya have two points.

Iroha tasks Eagles on improvement - News - Kick Off

Ben Iroha, who played alongside Keshi in the Super Eagles in the 1990's, told Vanguard newspaper that the team still miss Emenike and Moses as they need to improve in attack following the series of missed chances against Kenya. "Our victory over Kenya was a big boost for us, but it is not over yet until we get the ticket to Brazil; we are almost one leg in Brazil. "Namibia is a good side and playing them in their home is not going to be a mean task. Eagles have improved going by their away record, I don’t think they have lost any match. "I just hope they put the same energy they applied against Kenya in this match against Namibia so that we can get something out of it. "We still miss Emmanuel Emenike in the attack, we need his strength to jack up the team like in the days of Daniel Amokachi. We also missed the striking skill and speed of the Chelsea star, Victor Moses. I hope he recovers quick that will help us a lot," he adds. A victory for Nigeria in today's game will seal qualification for the next round of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, making the remaining game against Malawi a mere formality.

The Nigeria team that will be facing Namibia today

Vincent Enyeama Goalkeeper 13 Fegor Ogude Midfielder 16 Austin Ejide Goalkeeper 15 Michael Babatunde Midfielder 23 Chigozie Agbim Goalkeeper 17 Ogenyi Onazi Midfielder 2 Godfrey Oboabona Defender 18 Emeka Eze Midfielder 3 Uwa Elderson Echiejile Defender 19 Sunday Mba Midfielder 5 E. Ambrose Defender 20 Nnamdi Oduamadi Midfielder 6 Azubuike Egwueke Defender 7 Ahmed Musa Striker 12 Solomon Kwambe Defender 8 B. Ideye Striker 21 Francis Benjamin Defender 9 Joseph Akpala Striker 22 Kenneth Omeruo Defender 11 Mohammed Gambo Striker 4 John Ogochukwu Ogu Midfielder 14 Anthony Ujah Striker 10 John Obi Mikel Midfielder - Stephen Okechukwu Keshi

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