By Ime Bassey
As Super Eagles Coach, Samson Siasia unveils his team list and preparations for the Orange African Cup of Nations qualifier against Ethiopia this month, two ex-Internationals have said that the team’s botched US tournament will not affect the performance in the match.

Both of them Henry Nwosu and Nduka Ugbade believe that the team will qualify for the competition in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea in 2012. Ugbade held that “the team will surely qualify. Their chances are very bright because 80 percent of them were at the World Cup and were able to gather experience.

“The bottom line is that we will beat Ethiopia, this I know for sure. With Siasia on the bench, we will qualify for the African Cup of Nations. In the mean time, commenting on the odds of the team, former Green Eagles star, Henry Nwosu said that Siasia has to look at the radar of few new players to enable the team’s preparedness be sure. “Unfortunately for us we could not play the US tournament because of all that transpired.

It would have helped us to prepare for the Ethiopia game but Siasia should still look in other directions for few other players to fortify the team before the match itself.

“I am not God neither am I Samson Siasia or even one of the players, but I pray that what all of us expect as Nigerians which is to gain victory and also for smiles to return to our faces.

Also, I’m hoping that Siasia has a good combination of the Home Based and the foreign players in camp for the game so there will be a mix of energy, experience and determination,” he said