Nigeria Has ‘No Excuse’ Against CAR, Says Garba Lawal
Super Eagles legend Garba Lawal is expecting Nigeria to beat the Central African Republic (CAR) when the two nations lock horns in the Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifier at the Teslim Balogun Stadium on Thursday.
The encounter would be the first outing between the two countries, with the second taking place in CAR on Sunday.
Nigeria have been hit with an injury crisis with key players like Everton star Alex Iwobi, Watford’s Oghenekaro Etebo, Leicester City’s Wilfred Ndidi and Lorient’s Terem Moffi opting out, but Lawal does not see their absences as a problem that will stop Rohr’s men from securing maximum points in Lagos.
“There are no easy games anymore but still, the players have no excuse not to beat them. Individually or collectively, we are better than the Central African Republic,” Lawal said in an interview. “Nigeria is bigger than one player, whether we have injuries or not, time will tell that it’s not about that.”
“Some managers always have plan B, if ABC are not there then DEF can fill their spots. The most important thing is for them to win the game which they know better than you and I. Even if it is home-based Eagles playing, they have no excuse not to beat Central African Republic.”
When asked further about Nigeria’s chances of advancing to the final qualifying round that would have winners of the 10 groups battle for the five slots to Qatar, Lawal added: “We have two wins, so they have all it takes to come out of the group. Football is changing, some African countries are developing now but still no excuse.”
Nigeria made a strong start to its qualification campaign for Qatar 2022 and they sit atop of Group C with two wins in their first two matches, while Raoul Savoy’s side languish at the bottom of the table having picked up just one point (vs. Cape Verde).
The three-time African champions are aiming to make its seventh appearance on the world stage having played in the 1994,1998, 2002, 2010, 2014 and 2018 editions.
Chidi Nwoke/Goal.
