Fearless Okocha predicts victory over Ghana

Nigeria captain Jay-Jay Okocha said that victory over Ghana in the West African derby will be a morale booster for the Super Eagles' African Cup of Nations campaign.

كتب : وكالات

الإثنين، 23 يناير 2006 - 16:25
Port Said-Badr El Din Hassan: Nigeria captain Jay-Jay Okocha said that victory over Ghana in the West African derby will be a morale booster for the Super Eagles' African Cup of Nations campaign.

“Our game against Ghana will be very strong due to the rivalry between the two teams,” Okocha told Filgoal.com exclusively on Monday.

Nigeria will play Ghana in the opening game of their Group D in Port Said on Monday.

“A victory over them will provide us with the push needed to qualify to the quarter finals,” the veteran midfielder said.

The Bolton Wanderers player said there was no reason for his team to worry ahead of their game against the Black Stars who qualified to this year’s World Cup finals in Germany.

“There is nothing for us to be nervous about ahead of the game,” he said

“The fact that Ghana qualified to the World Cup for the first team means nothing to us because we are still the unbeatable Super Eagles of Africa,” added a confident Okocha.

Ghana, who share the record of 4 African titles with Cameroon and Egypt, booked their place in Germany while Nigeria lost qualification to Angola.

The 32-year-old skipper said that the Ghanaian team has been playing a “psychological game” with Nigeria ahead of Monday’s game, noting that this strategy only makes him and his teammates more motivated to win.

“Beating Nigeria is a goal that every team strives for, but on the other hand, when Nigeria beats any team it’s a normal thing,” said Okocha.