23rd June, 2018
The National President, National Council of Women Society (NCWS), Mrs Gloria Shoda, has commended the Super Eagles for their 2-0 victory over Iceland in a Group D World Cup match.
Shoda on Saturday in Abuja said that the victory had rebuilt Nigerian’s hope in the team.
Ahmed Musa, who emerged as Man-of-The-Match in the game, scored in the 49th and 75th minutes to return Nigeria to contention for a second round ticket.
“I congratulate the Super Eagles for their courage against Iceland.
“I also congratulate Nigerians for the victory and urged that we continued to pray for the team,” she said.
Shoda said that she was convinced that the Eagles understood what was at stake and could not afford to lose the game.
“We were expecting a victory. If we didn’t win that would have been a bad result for us. A loss would have meant we were out but now we are hopeful of advancing.
“We are going to beat Australia because the Eagles appear to be ready to win matches, unlike our performance in the first match against Croatia,” she stated.
She also congratulated Coach Gernot Rohr for listening to the criticism and change in his formation for the match.
Shoda expressed optimism that Nigeria would put up a similar display against Argentina to book a place in the round of 16.
“I am sure that our match against Argentina will go exactly like the one against Iceland. We have to win against Argentina and we will win,” she said.
The final round of matches in Group D would be played on June 26, with Nigeria taking on Argentina while Iceland will slog it out with group leaders, Croatia.
Similarly, Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State also hailed the Super Eagles for the defeat against Iceland.
In a statement in Akure by Segun Ajiboye, his Chief Press Secretary, the governor praised the team’s resilience during the match.
He urged the players to keep up the winning tempo and patriotism in its match against Argentina on Tuesday.
The governor called on Nigerians to emulate the patriotism and selflessness displayed by the team during the match, saying it would go a long way in achieving Nigeria’s desired goals as a united nation.
He also admonished all Nigerians to begin to see themselves as one, adding that the performance of the Super Eagles should rekindle the spirit of oneness and unity.