Ghana Was Difficult -Nigeria Coach

Super Eagles coach, Augustine Eguavoen, has siad in an interview that Monday's game against Ghana was a difficult one, though Nigeria was able to triumph at the end.

"The game against Ghana was a very difficult one. When Nigeria play against Ghana, it's always a tough tie.

“We have three reasons to be happy with this result: We won the game, which was very important; Oruma won the best player of the match; and we won the best support as you could see our fans everywhere," he said.

Meanwhile, while Eagles' Wilson Oruma won MTN's Best Player award, Ghana's captain, Stephen Appiah, was chosen for the LG Fair Play award of the match.

Appiah said: "I'm very happy with the way we played. We lost concentration towards the end and Nigeria scored.

“It could be painful to lose this way but that's football.

"We can't allow our heads to drop after this defeat. We have to continue the way we played and I think the results would come.”

Eguavoen also told KICK OFF that, while it was crucial that the Eagles won their opening Group D match against Ghana here in Port Said, they would continue to take each game as it comes.

"It was most important that we won this game but at the same time, we will not be taking anything for granted and will instead take each game as a cup final," Eguavoen said.

"There is still a lot of work to be done on the team but this victory will certainly make the job a lot easier. It has taken some pressure off us. But we will not relax because our objective remains to win this competition."

The Eagles campaign will be further boosted by the availability of Rennes forward John Utaka who has served out his suspension from the red card he received against Algeria in September.

"Utaka is a key member of my team and he has been doing well in training. We are only too happy to have him back," said Eguavoen.

The Eagles coach also warned that Zimbabwe whom Nigeria beat home and away during the qualifying tournament would be no pushovers on Friday.

"We may have defeated them both at home and away but we all saw what they did against Senegal. But for a few mistakes they could have got a result for themselves.

“This is a different team from the one we played against in Abuja and this time they have everything to play for as against when we beat them 5-1 in Abuja," he explained