The former Super Eagles goalkeeper believes that Stephen Keshi’s men do not need to play top rated countries as they prepare for the 2014 Fifa World Cup Brazil
Former Nigeriagoalkeeper Peter Rufai has insisted that the Super Eagles do not need to play against a top team as they prepare for their fifth appearance in the World Cup.
The former Deportivo La Coruna player who represented the country at the USA 1994 and France 1998 World Cups revealed that it is unnecessary for Stephen Keshi’s men to play a big team but a small team where the coach can make experiments.
“Friendly matches are used for a lot of things. Friendly matches don’t need to be with a very tough team before you know how to organise your team. It can be with a weak team. What is most important is the objective of playing such matches,” Rufai told The Punch.
“The coach can use the match to study how to pair his key players or to judge the performances of certain players in specific conditions.”
Rufai reiterated his belief in the Keshi led technical crew while offering some useful tips on how to have a successful tips in Brazil.
“I believe the technical crew is capable of deciding which goalkeepers go to the World Cup. Their performance at their respective clubs and during the Super Eagles’ training should inform the coaches on who is ready to be in Brazil.
“Nobody is in a better position to determine which goalkeeper is good enough for the World Cup than the coaches.
“However, we don’t have time to start testing new players for the World Cup. If they keep bringing new people, there won’t be time to plan strategies for the tournament.
“What they need to do now is to make plans on who to take what position against certain teams at the World Cup; perfecting strategies should be their activities now.
“All the teams in the group are potentially tough for Nigeria; we’ve gone past the era when we consider some teams as weaklings. Anyone can send you out of the tournament,” he concluded.
Nigeria will face Argentina, Iran and Bosnia-Herzegovina in Group F of the 20th Fifa World Cup which begins in June.
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