Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle says his team will not dwell on the absence of Victor Osimhen as Nigeria prepare for a decisive World Cup qualifier against South Africa in Bloemfontein on Tuesday.
The Galatasaray striker, who sustained a shin injury in the 1-0 win over Rwanda last weekend, will miss the encounter, raising concerns about Nigeria’s attacking threat.
Chelle, however, insisted that the squad has enough quality to handle the challenge without their talisman.
“Osimhen is a big star, he is a very good player. But I have a big group too. For sure, I can tell you that my players want to play a great game here once again,” he told journalists at the pre-match press conference on Monday.
The three-time African champions, Nigeria, currently sit six points behind South Africa, thanks to a narrow 1-0 win over the Wasps of Rwanda last Saturday, a result that still gives the West African powerhouse renewed hope of reaching a seventh FIFA World Cup tournament in history.
Before Nigeria getting the result over Rwanda, Hugo Broos’ men had opened up a nine-point advantage, after thrashing fellow COSAFA region campaigners, Lesotho, 3-0 at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein on Friday.
With the considerable gap in points between the two countries, today’s fixture is one that holds utmost importance, and it could determine who picks the sole automatic ticket from Group C, come the end of the series in October.
A win for Nigeria would put them right back into contention after a dismal qualifying campaign so far. It would mark a return to the quadrennial competition since the 2018 edition in Russia, and having sat out the 2022 event in Qatar.
Also, it will be their third win in the group, after having secured two victories, four draws and one loss. In Nigeria’s last 10 World Cup qualifying matches, they have managed two wins and seven draws, with the loss to Benin Republic last June being the only blemish.
On the other hand, a home victory would almost certainly put South Africa through to the World Cup finals. It would be a first appearance since 2010 when they staged it on home soil but it would be the first time they have successfully come through the qualifiers in more than two decades, having last done so in 2002.
There has been talk of whether Bafana Bafana would be docked three points, after fielding an ineligible player, Teboho Mokoena, during the qualifying series, but world’s football governing body, FIFA, has remained silent on the issue.
In the absence of Osimhen on Saturday, Tolu Arokodare stepped up and delivered the only goal in the 51st minute to secure the win.
Chelle will now count on history as he plots to do the impossible, with the Eagles not having lost away to South Africa on their home patch.
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