30 May 2011
Super Eagles Head Coach, Samson Siasia, has made it clear that the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Ethiopia in Addis Ababa on June 5 is more important than the June 1 international friendly against Argentina at the National Stadium in Abuja.
Siasia referred to the international friendly match against Argentina next Wednesday as “a dress rehearsal” to the Ethiopian tie.
“At this point, we must be able to identify which game of the two is far more important for us. If we place both games side by side, it is the Ethiopian game that is top priority whether we like it or not.
“May be if we were facing the Argentines in a World Cup game then we would have thought differently. But as it is, the game against Argentina is a dress rehearsal to the Ethiopia game.
“Our main aim now is to qualify for the Nations Cup next year. We cannot afford to fail. So if we beat Argentina then fail to beat Ethiopia that won’t be good for us. But we want to win all games to boost our confidence as a team,” Siasia told SuperSport.com.
The Nigerian gaffer also said the thought of holding the Ethiopian game as key over that of Argentina will not lead to players putting in a slack performance before the home fans.
“No we won’t just lay back for the Argentina game just because we think that the Ethiopian game is more important. We will give it our best and at the same time, we don’t want to lose any of our key players to injury since it is just a friendly game,” he said.
AllAfrica – All the Time
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Nigeria: Siasia – Ethiopia Tie More Vital