Olympic Eagles in last chance salon in Rabat: Olympic Eagles in last chance salon in Rabat

The journey looks arduous. Nigeria has not been to the Olympic Games since it won the bronze medal at the 2016 edition of the global fiesta. Now, it faces the prospect of missing the next edition of the competition. That is, if the Olympic Eagles fail to beat Guinea in their Morocco 2023 African U-23 Cup of Nations qualifier today in the North African country.

Nigeria barely survived a better-trained Guinean side in the first leg of the qualifier in Abuja last week and need an improved performance to survive the sleek boys from Titi Camara’s country.

Olympic Eagles head Coach, Salisu Yusuf, says there is no cause fore alarm.

Yusuf, who disagrees with those who see the first leg result as bad for his team, says his boys are better prepared for the return leg and would give Nigerians reason to celebrate after 90 minutes.

The team will be without Christopher Nwaeze, who was sent off towards the end of the first leg, but Yusuf assures that he has the quality and depth to plug all holes in the side.

He said shortly before leaving for Morocco: “We have a positive mindset to go there (Morocco) and win. It is football, when you do the right thing, you will get the opportunity to score; you can score and you can win, even away from home.

“The most important thing is that we did not lose here because they had two shots on goal, which were very critical, but thank God the defenders reacted very quickly to it.

“But I am very positive and still believe that we can still qualify if we work extra hard,” Yusuf said.

Yusuf blamed the little time he had to train with his boys for the failure to win in Abuja last week, adding that the days they had to work after the first leg have given them opportunity to blend better.

“We did not train together