Super Eagles can still soar, says coach

Nigeria coach Lars Lagerback Thursday insisted the Super Eagles still had a chance to qualify for the World Cup knockout phase despite a devastating 2-1 defeat to Greece.

Nigeria took an early lead in Bloemfontein through Kalu Uche but the match turned on a red card for midfielder Sani Kaita just after the half hour, dismissed after kicking out at Vasileios Torosidis.

A goal just before half-time for Dimitrios Salpingidis and a winner for Torosidis won the game for Euro 2004 champions, who registered their first ever win at a World Cup finals at their fifth attempt.

A frustrated Lagerback, who said the sending-off changed the course of the game, said he could not see the incident clearly but described it as “very, very, very strange” and called for more dialogue with referees.

“Everyone who knows anything about football knows that if you are playing with 10 men at this level it’s much more difficult to win a game,” he added.

Captain Joseph Yobo said the “sending-off played a big part because we were in control,” though the team continued to create goal-scoring chances, adding that Nigeria were still in with a chance of qualification.

The Swedish coach said he was pleased with the way the match unfolded from the kick-off.

“We started the match quite well and I think we controlled the game. We got the goal, then you have the sending-off and we had some problems,” said Lagerback.

“With the circumstances, I’m proud of the attitude and the work that the players put into the second half,” he added.

He said the coaching staff would take stock of the defeat before gearing up for Tuesday’s match against South Korea, where a win could still see the Super Eagles qualify, with Greece up against table-topping Argentina on the same day.

Lagerback said Nigeria would “try to prepare and see that we go out and win against South Korea.”

Nigeria’s defeat continues a miserable run for the Super Eagles in which they have now gone seven games without a win at World Cup finals – including six defeats since their last victory in France 1998.

Argentina, Nigeria’s conquerors in their first match, beat South Korea 4-1 in Johannesburg in the earlier Group B match to take their tally to six points. South Korea are on three points along with Greece, with Nigeria yet to register.