By Ime Bassey

With a few hours to the kick off of Sunday’s crucial Nations Cup qualifier between the Super Eagles and the Barea of  Madagascar, two coaches in the Nigerian Premier League, NPL, Lodewijk de Kruif of Heartland FC and Bitrus Bewarang of Plateau United have spoken their minds on the game.

Skepticism surrounds the mind of the Dutch-born technical adviser, de Kruif who feels  that the Eagle’s hope  for the three points is slim, given the weather conditions  in Antananarivo, which he revealed is not favourable for football.

“Six months ago, I spoke to my father who was there for a holiday and from what he said, I discovered that Madagascar is a very difficult country to play football. But I believe if the Eagles can be focused on just getting the three points, they would be able to get it. They need to face the Barea of Madagascar squarely as it is the most difficult game than that of Guinea.

“I know Nigeria has more quality and talented players than the Madagascans which is a big advantage for them only if they can use it properly. Their preparations must be very professional to put them in the best position for victory because, they know what it means to play such a game,” de Kruif said.

On his part, the former Super Eagles assistant coach and present General Manager of Plateau United, Bewarang said, “We need to win this match and make the Guinea tie an icing on the cake, putting us in contention for Nations Cup glory.

Siasia, I believe, knows the calibre of players he wants to use to prosecute this game. For me, I did not feel easy inside when the Ghana friendly was called off, because I know it would have helped him to have a holistic idea on what his game tactics will be,” Bewarang said

“Siasia should not underrate them as there are no more small teams in football now. If he does, it is at his own peril. I am not comfortable at all with this game bearing in mind what underdogs unleash nowadays in football. I know we will not forget the Ethiopia game easily which actually brought us where we are now,” he added.