By Jacob Ajom

After losing to Ghana 1-4 on penalties, in the semi final of the African Nations Championship, the Super Eagles will today take on the Warriors of Zimbabwe in the losers’ final.

At stake is national pride and the bronze medal, more than the prize money that has no real value difference between the two combatants as both 3rd and 4th place finishers will share $500,000 equally.

*Sorry Sight… Super Eagles players face the agony of defeat after falling to Ghana’s Black Stars on 4-1 penalties. But today they are ready to make amends with the third place match against Zimbabwe.

The Nigerian players have been talking tough ahead of the duel which precedes the final between Ghana and Libya.

Although the morale in camp has been dampened by the defeat to Ghana, the players have promised to pick themselves up and ensure they do not come back to Nigeria without anything to show. “I will do my best if fielded as we cannot afford to lose to Zimbabwe,” says Super Eagles and 3SC forward, Gbolahan Salami.

Azubuike Egwuekwe said he and his team mates have vowed to do everything humanly possible to ensure the Zimbabweans fall. “We are disappointed by our loss to Ghana. Nobody expected it but now that we have been forced by circumstances to play third place match, we will do our best to win the match.”

For Coach Stephen Keshi, the tournament has been one of a big lesson and today’s tie between his wards and Zimbabwe is a continuation of the learning curve. “What is important is the mental and attitudinal growth my team has been able to achieve in this tournament. “Coming back from an opening game defeat to get to this level does not come cheap. My team has character and that would come to bear when we meet Zimbabwe,” the big boss said in Bloemfontein.

He told the boys to shake off from the Ghana loss and set their eyes on the bronze medal, if that is the only thing they can win for Nigeria. “We will give it our best shot even though we had hoped for better a ending.”

WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FROM THE EAGLES IN TODAY’S MATCH?