World Cup: Eagles need better midfielders, says Chukwu

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A former Super Eagles coach Christian Chukwu has said the quality of the national team’s midfield needs to improve for Nigeria to stand a good chance of qualifying for the Russia 2018 World Cup.

The Eagles beat Swaziland in 2-0 on aggregate to qualify for the final phase of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, where they would face tougher African sides.

Chukwu told our correspondent on the telephone that the Eagles need to work harder in preparations for the qualifiers if they hope to make it to the World Cup.

The 1980 Africa Cup of Nations winner said the Eagles need better midfielders to improve in goal scoring.

He said, “The only thing that needs to be done to solve the difficulty in scoring goals is to get quality midfielders; the kind of midfielders that will give the attackers correct passes and create good chances for strikers to score goals. When we a get a quality midfield that work of our attackers will be a lot easier. The main work should be done in the midfield.

“We need to prepare very well for the final stage of the World Cup qualifiers. I don’t see why we should not respect other teams, but we should not fear them. If we prepare well, we should not have any problem qualifying for the World Cup.”

On how the Eagles fared against Swaziland, Chukwu said, “The most important thing is that we qualified. At times, it is better to play badly and win.”

He added that if Nigeria hope to win the World Cup, they have to be ready to face any team in the world.

“I believe we registered for the World Cup because we want to win it. If we want to win the World Cup, we should not be afraid of facing any country. We should be ready for any national team,” Chukwu said.

“If you want to be world champions, you have to be above other teams. If your standard is not that high, then you need to improve. The harder that opponents, the more prepared we should be.”

Source: Punch