Nigeria’s new Technical Adviser, Lars Lagerback, said in Abuja  yesterday that a place in the FIFA World Cup semi-finals is a realistic target for the Green Eagles.

“I wonder why people are pessimistic when they hear talk of semi-final target. Every country that goes to a major championships wants to do well, and I believe Nigeria has the players to do well at this World Cup.

“Several people have asked me whether a semi-final place is not a dream, but I tell them that we can achieve it if we all work together – the players, the coaches, the administrators and the fans”.

Lagerback, 61–year-old Swede, unveiled on Wednesday in Abuja as Nigeria’s new Technical Adviser, is scheduled to depart for Stockholm yesterday and return to Nigeria in a couple of weeks to start the big job of taking the Super Eagles to its fourth World Cup finals appearance.

Lagerback was also formally introduced to members of the Executive Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation at a simple ceremony at Glass House, Abuja on Thursday morning.

Nigeria, in her debut in 1994, reached the World Cup Round of 16 and was two minutes away from a famous defeat of eventual finalists Italy in the United States of America. Four years later, the Super Eagles also reached the Round of 16, losing to Denmark. But the team crashed out at group stage in Korea/Japan in 2002 and did not even qualify for the finals in Germany four years ago.