Team coordinator and former inter national Patrick Pascal has said the Super Eagles are fully prepared to move past the recent harrowing experience they suffered in Libya as they head into their final Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 qualifiers against Benin Republic and Rwanda.
The Eagles were held hostage for more than 15 hours at the Al-Abraq Airport when the team travelled for the second leg of their fixture. The Nigerian side eventually boycotted the game after officially reporting the ill-treatment to the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
The Eagles received a major boost when CAF awarded Nigeria maximum points following the cancellation of the match. However, Pascal, assured that the Libya incident would not impact the players’ focus or morale as they gear up for these crucial matches.
He said the players were impressed with the support from the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the government and that would stir up team spirit.
“If the federation didn’t try and the Government of Nigeria didn’t do anything, definitely the players will feel somehow, but now the federation has taken a bold step and the government of Nigeria has supported the federation for the players to come back,” Pascal explained.
“I don’t think it will affect the players because we’ve gotten justice and CAF giving Nigeria the maximum 3 points.”
“If the federation didn’t try and the Government of Nigeria didn’t do anything, definitely the players will feel somehow, but now the federation has taken a bold step and the government of Nigeria has supported the federation for the players to come back,” Pascal explained.
