Nigeria coach calls for fans' total support

Nigeria Golden Eaglets' coach John Obuh on Wednesday called for fans' total support for his team as it takes on New Zealand in FIFA U-17 World Cup knockout stage on Thursday.

"We are happy and appreciate the support we have received so far from all Nigerians, but we still need more of this support to overcome our opponents in the knock-out stages," Obuh told reporters in Abuja on Wednesday.

The coach, whose team is seeking a place in the quarter-finals, assured Nigerians that it was not going to disappoint them as it would not underrate the opponents.

"We are not underrating any team at all, and certainly not New Zealand. We know it is not time to do that at all," he said.

"It is a fact that a football match is for 90 minutes at least, and until the referee's whistle goes, nothing is certain. We know this to be true of football," he added.

"This is why a team must play for the duration of the game and maintain concentration all the time. That is one thing we have been able to inculcate in the boys," he said.

Obuh said such concentration and discipline had been imbibed by the players and that he was hopeful it would help the team as it advanced in the competition.

Source: Xinhua