Brazil won’t stop Flying Eagles, says Lawal.
Former Super Eagles midfielder Garba Lawal has allayed fears on the possibilities of Brazil halting the ambition of the Flying Eagles in Nigeria’s team’s quest to have a shot at this year’s FIFA U- 20 World Cup trophy in New Zealand.
Lawal went down memory lane when he toldSportingLifethat nobody gave his team, the Dream Team any chance of winning the goal medal of the football tournament of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics when they defeated football world powers to achieve the feat then.“In football it depends on your ambition and determination to succeed and achieve results when nobody gave you the chance to do so. I believe that the present squad of the Flying Eagles is good to go. They have the zeal, quality and the talent to succeed in this year’s World Cup.
“As a football player everybody wants to play in the World Cup no matter how small it is. The Africa Youth Championship (AYC) which the team won is a different ball game compared with the FIFA U- 20 World Cup.
If they want to win the World Cup then they have to win every game in the tournament whether they like it or not. They also have to focus on every game 120 per cent.
“They are young, they can run, they can push, and they can kick because they want to achieve something. Their determination will see them through Brazil and others in their group. They have to do it themselves, nobody will do it for them and I believe they can do it.
“So it is in the boys’ hands to do it this time around. We look up to these players to graduate to the U-23 national team and finally to the Super Eagles.
“As regards the fear factor you are saying about playing against Brazil, I want to tell you that Brazil is Brazil and Nigeria is Nigeria. When we won the gold medal of the Football Tournament of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics we never thought we would beat Mexico 3-1 in the quarter-finals, even Brazil in the semi-finals when we won 4-3. We beat Argentina loaded with Ortega and others in the final. So it all depends on the kind of squad you have. If they believe in themselves I believe definitely they will go far in the competition”, Lawal who was a dependable utility players for the Dream Team and the Super Eagles, toldSportingLifein Abuja.