Super Eagles defender Kenneth Omeruo has revealed that there’s no possibility that Friday’s tie against Angola will end in a stalemate. The Kasimpasa defender believes a win will separate both sides.
“We have absolutely no need to go into back-and-forth chatter with any team. The Super Eagles are in Cote d’Ivoire for serious business. We have not played Angola for a long time, but I remember we played them in 2012 in a friendly, and it ended in a draw. I have also read of how previous encounters between the two countries have been quite close.
“There is no possibility of Friday’s match ending in a draw; a winner must emerge. So much talk has been going on. Our collective resolve is to do the talking on the pitch. The Nigeria Spirit trumps all.”
2013 Africa Cup of Nations winner Kenneth Omeruo said the Super Eagles have little or no time for confabulation and will prefer to do the talking on the turf of the Stade Félix Houphouët-Bony against Angola in the quarter-final of the 34th edition in Abidjan on Friday.
The experienced defender came in to help stabilize the rear-guard in the closing stages of Saturday’s Round of 16 defeats of five-time champions Cameroon at the same venue, and is confident that the Palancas Negras (Sable Antelope) will bite the dust by the final blast of the referee’s whistle.
Omeruo rebuffed claims made by Angola player that they would neutralize the Super Eagles on Friday:
“We drew our first match (against Equatorial Guinea) and many people concluded that we are not here to compete strongly for the trophy. They have since admitted that we may be up to something after we defeated Cote d’Ivoire, and then Cameroon. We must continue to work hard, believe in ourselves, and put in a solid shift each day and time we get onto the field.”
The 30 years old defender together with Ahmed Musa are the only active players to win the 2013 AFCON tournament.
Omeruo was benched during Nigeria’s opener game against Equatorial Guinea, during the second group game against Côte d’Ivoire, Kenneth played the 10 minutes, during the last group game against Guinea-Bissau, he played the entire 90 minutes and appeared just 10 minutes against Cameroon.
