Eagles can stop Drogba – Chukwu, Nwosu

Didier Drogba

Nigeria’80 Africa Cup of Nations winners – Christian Chukwu and Henry Nwosu – are confident that the Super Eagles can put together a winning performance against Ivory Coast in their South Africa 2013 quarterfinal clash at Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg, on Sunday.

The Elephants were the first team to reach the quarterfinals of the continental showpiece, after easy wins over Togo and Tunisia in Group D. They later fought to a 2-2 draw with Algeria in their last group game on Wednesday.

On the other hand, Nigeria struggled to hit the stage after beating Ethiopia 2-0 on Tuesday to add three points to the two from their earlier Group C encounters with  Burkina Faso and Zambia respectively.

Chukwu and Nwosu, who admitted that the Eagles face a huge task in checking the Ivorians’  attacking threat posed by 2012 UEFA Champions League winner   Didier Drogba, Arsenal’s Gervinho  and  former Chelsea’s Salomon Kalou, tipped Nigeria to reach  the semifinals.

“It’ll be a tough match,” Chukwu, who captained the 1980 winning team, told our correspondent on the telephone on Thursday.

“We have the advantage because our players are younger, and with their speed, they can beat the Ivorians, who are older.

“Drogba is expected to pose a big problem for our defence but we must deny him a chance  to get into our box. If we don’t do that, he will destroy us.”

However, the ex-international, who led Nigeria to a third-place finish at Tunisia 2004, warned the Eagles against focusing solely on Drogba.

He said, “They have dangerous players like us, but we should concentrate on all just their players, including the goalkeeper.

“We should correct our mistakes during the group stage and aim to win the tournament. We are  playing a big team and I expect a tough match.”

 Nwosu  foresees complacency denying the Elephants victory over the Eagles, urging Nigerians to believe in their team.

The former midfielder said, “Our team should go for   mass attack. However, we should be cautious at the rear.

“Yes, Drogba will be a threat but we also have dangerous players. The Ivorians are also afraid of the likes of Emmanuel Emenike and Ike Uche.”