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While
acknowledging that the friendly match against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday
did not send one’s pulse racing, Lagerback can be excused the fact that
this was his first outing. But as the Eagles play Colombia at the
Milton Keynes Stadium in England today, the Swede must make sure that
whatever team he puts out does not cast depression on the majority of
their fans.

When Sweden
qualified for the 2002 World Cup under Lars Lagerback, they instituted
an inquiry and found that they had the least efficient squad in their
World Cup group containing favourites Argentina, England, and Nigeria,
in that order.

They therefore made
a plan – that to qualify for the second round, which was their main
objective – they would take points off Argentina and England, and had
to beat Nigeria to get a total of five points. At the end of the first
round, they achieved the aim, even coming first in the group, ahead of
England, while Argentina and Nigeria crashed out.

These same set of
conclusions must be drawn up, or made better, if Nigeria is to make it
out of Group D and get as far as possible with the present Eagles squad.

What result against Argentina?

As the opening
match, the importance of the result cannot be overestimated. It may
make or mar Nigeria’s participation in South Africa. The Eagles have to
make sure that they are not beaten; how they will achieve that result,
or make it better, is left to Lars Lagerback and his players.

One experiences a
solid fear that refuses to just go away at the thought of Nigeria’s
first match against Argentina, and the reason for the fear is none
other than the presence of the 2009 World Player of the Year, Lionel
Messi; with his compatriots – Diego Milito, Carlos Tevez, Sergio
Aguerro, and Gonzalo Higuain – who between them scored 118 goals in
their respective leagues. Nigerians will remember the new Madrid
recruit, Angel Di Maria, who scored the lone goal against Samson
Siasia’s team at the finals of the 2008 Olympics football final.

Lagerback, though,
is not fazed about meeting such a world class field. He told a Nigerian
sports daily, last weekend, in London:

“The first match of
a tournament can condition the rest. Argentina have fantastic
individuals, but I’m not fearful or intimidated by the thought of
facing Messi, Tevez, Higuain, Aguero and all the others.”

The reason for the
optimism may be based on the fact that in the over one hundred games
that Sweden played under him as coach, Lagerback recorded an impressive
75% unbeaten record. What this statistic tells us is that the Swede
knows how to set up his teams so that they won’t be beaten. He will not
have stage fright, having drawn with a star studded Argentine team in
2002. He continued:

“I think I know how
to stifle Argentina. Sweden did it at the 2002 World Cup. You couldn’t
say we had the better players, but we still drew 1-1 with them. Messi
is extraordinary, but Argentina are not Barcelona.”

If the Super Eagles
get anything from that opening match against the Messi-inspired team,
it will go a long way in lifting the spirits of Nigerians who will be
glued to their television sets.

Going for a win against Greece

On the Greek national team, Nigeria’s next opponents after Argentina, Lagerback noted:

“I have a lot of
respect for the work of Otto Rehhagel with Greece. They play tight, are
spirited, and are not in the habit of selling themselves short.”

There will gasps of
delight from fans as the Greek players knuckle down to get their
desired results, but you can be sure they will be very hard to break
down. After watching Greece draw 2-2 against North Korea on Tuesday,
the Eagles must make sure that there are no mistakes against this wily
team. They are a reactive team and always wait for the opponent to
‘beat’ itself. Yes, they will apply pressure from set plays from all
parts of the pitch, but they will not go out of their way to out-play
the opponent. This is one match that the Eagles must concentrate on,
and probably win. They have the better players and more importantly,
the faster players.

Avoiding defeat by South Korea

“South Korea’s strength is their energy and total commitment. You have to match them there,” Lagerback said in an interview.

South Korea have
shown in their eight World Cup tune-up matches to date, the most recent
being the 2-0 over fellow World Cup team, Japan, that they are a very
well organised and highly efficient side. They are very fit, and the
Eagles have to stand toe to toe with the Asian champions to get a
result. The worst result from this match should be a draw.

Lagerback believes in the qualities of the present Eagles team to get that desired result, and said in an interview:

“I see a team with
a great deal of physical presence and individual skill. I’d go as far
as to say that, man for man, Nigeria have more pure technical talent
than most. I don’t think we need to worry about a lack of flair and
match-winning ability.”

Growing pessimism

Many Nigerians will
like to believe the above statement, but performances by the team and
the lack of playing time for majority of the players is a continuous
cause for concern. But Lagerback is trying his entire psychological
prowess to lift the spirit of a dispirited nation.

“I wonder why
people are pessimistic when they hear talk of semi-final target. Every
country that goes to a major championship wants to do well, and I
believe Nigeria have the players to do well at this World Cup.

“Several people
have asked me whether a semi-final place is not a dream, but I tell
them that we can achieve it if we all work together: the players, the
coaches, the administrators, and the fans.”

The final squad list will be drawn today and the 23 warriors will be
known. We hope that they will do the country proud in South Africa and
the least we can ask of them is to be 100% committed to the cause, when
the World Cup starts for them on June 12 with their opening match
against Argentina.