Super Eagles Chief Coach Salisu Yusuf has assured that the long lull in activities will not affect the upward march of the national team in their quest to win qualification for the 2018 World Cup.

The Eagles are not part of the Africa Cup of Nations starting January 14 in Gabon and football pundits have fears this could affect the team currently leading the group B pairings with six points from two matches.

They play Cameroon back to back in August 2017. However, Yusuf insisted that the Eagles will maintain their winning streak in the group B fixtures also featuring Algeria and Zambia.

“To be frank, 2016 was a memorable year for the Super Eagles in terms of our World Cup campaign because it’s was what we wanted,” Salisu said.

“What is paramount for the technical crew this year is on how the team will maintain an unbeaten run that will ultimately ensure Nigeria qualify for the 2018 World Cup,” he said.