Super Eagles stand-in captain, Vincent Enyeama looking ahead of Nigeria’s final group clash against the world champions, Spain is confident Nigeria could yet spring a surprise on la Roja.
“We do not have to beat Spain convincingly, we just have to beat them. That’s the most important thing. You never know what will happen to Uruguay against Tahiti,” he added.
“I really respect Spain, they have amazing players. Iniesta is magical for them and then you have Xavi… You like to play against these guys because you love watching these guys too.
“But it’s possible to win, because this is football. It will be a great experience for us. We can show our quality and we want to learn.”
The Super Eagles are on the verge of exiting the Confederations Cup rehearsal following their defeat to Uruguay, but the keeper believes their future is bright
Vincent Enyeama has demanded Nigeria supporters to remain patient in the wake of their likely Confederations Cup elimination, insisting “Rome was not built in a day.”
The Super Eagles were defeated 2-1 by Uruguay on Thursday, and with Spain still to come and the South Americans being regarded as red-hot favourites against Tahiti, they are on the verge of elimination from the competition.
However, their goalkeeper claims the side have already exceeded expectations after being written off prior to the tournament and can only continue to head in the right direction – if they are given the time to develop.
“It’s like Rome, that wasn’t built in a day. We have good players and we are trying to achieve good things. (Captaining the side) is amazing. A great feeling. There is no better thing to be in history,” he said.
“Nobody would have believed that we would play this well. The bookmakers never gave us a chance. We forced Uruguay to defend all of the game.
“We are on the same page as Uruguay. We have three points, they have three points. They have a more easy game, and we have Spain, but nobody knows what can happen. Maybe we can do it.”
The Africans drew level via John Obi Mikel’s strike in the first half but failed to sustain any attacking threat thereafter, and the shot-stopper admitted his country “could have done” with another player of the Chelsea midfielder’s calibre.
“They closed down space deep. They protected their defence and their goalkeeper. I can’t even remember [Fernando] Muslera making any saves, it was just straight balls,” he remarked.
“[Mikel’s] a talent. A big talent, a big player. We rely on him to do good things, to keep the ball. We wish we could have another John Obi Mikel… Another two, three or four of them.
“We don’t blame players who make mistakes [referring to Brown Ideyi’s misses]. That’s been our goal. We stay together, and I am not one of those who will apportion blame.
“I will defend my players on everything. We lose together, we win together and we play that way.”
