Austin Eguavoen, a former Super Eagles Head Coach, said on Thursday that the team’s concentration level at the ongoing Confederations Cup in Brazil was their major undoing.
Eguavoen told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the team could have stayed longer at the tournament, if they had sustained their level of intensity in all their matches.
The former ACB FC of Lagos and Gent FC of Belgium defender emphasised the need for the Stephen Keshi-led technical crew to work more on the team’s attack line.
“In my assessment of our performance from the opening match with Tahiti, we were brilliant. We could have scored more, but we couldn’t.
“And mind you, we missed some players that would have been part of the struggle.
“In our match against Uruguay, even when we fought so hard, our major undoing was lack of concentration, but in all, I give it to them that they did well,’’ he said.
Eguavoen, who was a member of the Super Eagles squad that won the 1994 edition of the AFCON in Tunisia, stressed that the Eagles must step up their game against the big teams.
He noted that the team initially kept pace with World Champions Spain in their last group match, but eventually lost out because they could not convert gilt-edged chances into goals.
“It could have been Spain 5 Nigeria 3, but that didn’t happen, because we did not take advantage of the chances; that’s the difference.
“In spite of the lack of bite in our attack, we still gave Spain a run for their money, even when we lost 3-0,’’ he added.
On the chances of the team qualifying for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the former Super Eagles coach was of the firm belief that the team would qualify for the soccer fiesta.
“I have no doubts in my mind; we can go to sleep. Nigeria has qualified for the World Cup.
“We just have to work hard with a lot of top friendlies against European, Asian, South American and African sides,’’ Eguavoen added.
