Former African Footballer of the Year, Victor Ikpeba, strongly believes Nigeria U-23 team can defeat their Senegalese counterparts in the semifinal of the CAF U-23 Nations Cup/ Olympics qualifiers today (Wednesday).
The hosts are clearly the favourites going into the match after they picked maximum points to top Group A in the preliminary stage of the tournament.
In contrast, Coach Samson Siasia’s side had a somewhat shaky start to the campaign after finishing second in Group B. But kpeba insisted the Senegalese would be under pressure facing their biggest opponents in the tournament so far, and that the Nigerians might progress and pick the Rio 2016 Olympics ticket.
He said Siasia should find the right balance for the team and enjoined the players not to lose focus throughout the encounter.
“Playing against Senegal will be a war; fans will come out in large numbers. Senegal have enjoyed all the advantages, but I think for the first time, they will be playing a very physical Nigerian side, a good side on a good day,” the ex-international said on Tuesday.
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“I personally feel that pressure will be on them, can they stand up to that expectation? I think it’s a game we can win because we rarely lose against our West African neighbours, even when we are not playing well. I think we may just have that psychological edge against them.”
