Ex-international Mutiu Adepoju has described the Super Eagles 1-1 draw with a Catalonia selected side on Wednesday as the beginning of better things to come for the Africa Cup of Nations-bound team.
The Eagles fought back from a goal down to draw level through a strike from US-based Bright Dike after the hosts had taken the lead in the first half through a penalty.
Adepoju, who spent over a decade in Spain playing for Real Madrid, Racing Santander and Real Sociedad from 1989 to 2000, said the Catalonia team were as good as the dreaded FC Barcelona team or the Spanish national team.
“The Catalonia team are just like the Spanish national team; they have players from FC Barcelona, Espanyol and other big clubs in the region. These are determined players who are hungry for success so they didn't hold anything back when they were playing against Nigeria,” Adepoju said.
“They play once a year so they attached a lot of importance to the game because of what it meant to them as a nation; they did not hold anything back because their reputation was at stake. They played exactly the way FC Barcelona play. They made several attempts to score so we should commend our players for holding them on their ground.”
The former Shooting Stars player dismissed criticisms that playing a European side might not prepare the Eagles well for the Africa Cup of Nations, saying the quality of the game mattered most.
He said, “Playing Catalonia was no different from playing any top side in the world. It didn't matter if we played a European side while we are preparing for the Nations Cup, what mattered was we played a quality match.
“It is important at this juncture to warn the Eagles not to allow the result against Catalonia to go into their heads by underrating teams at the Nations Cup. They should take every game serious right from the group stage until the final day.”
Adepoju, however, did not fail to notice a few lapses in the Wednesday's game.
“One little problem I saw in the Eagles against the Spaniards was that they were initially scared of coming out which gave their opponents the confidence to attack from all sides. The onslaughts lead to conceding the penalty in the first half,” he said.
“The coordination in the midfield will still need some work just as the style of tackles in the defence. Generally, they are getting closer to being a very good side that can contend for the African title in South Africa.”
