Former Green Eagles Goalkeeper, Emmanuel Okala, has appealed to Nigerians to still support and pray for the Super Eagles to excel in their subsequent matches.
The Super Eagles suffered a 2 – 0 defeat in the hands of Vatreni of Croatia in their first match in Group D in the 2018 World Cup.
Okala told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Enugu that the national team needed to be encouraged.
He noted that “”now is not the time to blame anybody’’.
“”As a veteran in the game of football, all we need now is to support and pray for the team so that they play better in the next matches.
“”This is all I can say for now as a veteran,’’ he said.
Similarly, football fans, who had trooped out of various viewing centres in Yola town, expressed disappointment over the Super Eagles defeat in the hands of Croatia.
“It’s too bad for us. Something needs to be done or we are going nowhere in this tournament,” said Gyang Pam, a journalist.
Pam said that the team must be prepared to win its next match to give sports fans some ray of hope.
Another football enthusiast Abdu Musa said: “”We lost and there is nothing to say. I just don’t know how it happened; luck is not on our side.”
NAN reports that the Super Eagles would be playing Iceland’s Strákarnir Okkar (Our Boys) on June 22 (Friday) and later Albiceleste of Argentina on June 26 (Tuesday).
`Russia 2018’ football fiesta, which is featuring 32 national teams, begun on June 14 and would end on July 15.