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Coach
of Nigeria’s under 23 men’s football team, Augustine Eguavoen has
expressed delight with the outcome of Wednesday’s draws for the 2012
Olympic Games which saw Nigeria’s Dream Team V pitched against their
counterparts from Tanzania.

The draws which
were released by Africa’s football governing body, CAF, will see the
Nigerian team travelling to Dar es Salaam on Wednesday, May 4 for the
first-leg tie before returning home for the reverse fixture billed for
May 18.

The Tanzanians,
during the last round of the qualifiers for the London 2012 Olympics,
eliminated 2000 Olympic gold medallists Cameroun. After losing 2-1 to
the Camerounians in the first-leg tie in Yaounde, the Tanzanians
responded with a similar score line in Dar es Salaam before advancing
via a 4-3 penalty-shoot-out win.

But Eguavoen is
confident his team will not be added to the list of teams eliminated at
the hands of the East Africans, even as he admits that the draws could
had been tougher, as Nigeria could have easily been pitched against the
likes of Egypt, Senegal, or even Sudan who were responsible for the
elimination of Ghana.

“It is not bad. It
could had been worse, so I am happy with the draw as it gives us a good
chance to progress,” said Eguavoen. “That doesn’t mean it will be a
stroll in the park for us as they have got to be respected.

He added: “Any team
capable of holding its own against the Camerounians has got to be
respected. But I am confident. I believe in this team and I’m sure we
will make it to the next round.”

Mini-tournament

The next round will
see the eight teams left in the competition being drawn into two groups
in a mini-tournament to be played in December at a yet-to-be-determined
venue, at the end of which the top three-placed teams will qualify for
the Olympics.

The fourth best placed team will however qualify for a play-off with an opponent from the Asian continent.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Dream Team V will tomorrow leave for Monrovia,
venue of this weekend’s All Africa Games qualifier against Liberia.
Twenty players made the team for the trip and they include senior
internationals Ekigho Ehiosun and Chibuzor Okonkwo who came in as a
replacement for right-back Emmanuel Anyanwu, who is in the Flying
Eagles team to the Africa Youth Championship in South Africa.