Nigeria defender Leon Balogun has said he his confidence that with the calibre of players currently in the Super Eagles, the team should be able to beat Bafana Bafana of South Africa in June's 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Uyo.
The Eagles will kick off their 2019 AFCON qualifiers when they host South Africa in their first Group B game. They will also face Seychelles and Libya in the group.
In an interview with the Nigeria Football Federation, Balogun said “The camping in the UK was very nice, I think we have a lot of players playing in Europe and it was good we were able to use the time to bond; it really would help as we continue to blend. There wasn't too much stress for us, as it was nearby and everyone could quickly assemble. Ahead of South Africa game, if we remain focused we have quality young players to beat any team in Africa. The thing is a coach guides a team, gives them ideas on how to play and also presents a team that will play so it doesn't matter whether they (South Africa) have a coach or not, it's the players on the pitch that matters. They are the ones who will perform and show their quality on the field. Perhaps before we play them, they would have hired a coach who will still give them idea on how to play us so I think it will be an interesting game. I played against South Africa once before; I know they have quality players and it will be tough game. I expect a hard game against South Africa. About Cameroon, it's a crucial game and a home game we must win. At home we have everything under our control, we must use that to our advantage. Another advantage is Uyo, our current home ground. Uyo has become a fortress for us. I think it is one of the reasons for our successes in recent times. Uyo fans have shown so much love for the team and that has been very great. The ground is great and the training pitch is also good. And the Akwa Ibom State government has been very supportive of our cause. Cameroon is a strong team, after winning AFCON 2017 they've built up their confidence but by the time we will play them it would be six months after their win in Gabon, we must show them we want the win more than they do. We need to make sure we get the maximum three points to take our points’ tally to nine; that will give us a big edge over other teams including Cameroon. I'm seriously looking forward to the game; we want to show them that we are better than them. We are already dreaming of Russia 2018, but we know we must work harder. We will ensure we win all our matches especially our home games.”
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