Beat Ghana, get $100,000, Sports Minister tells Eagles ahead of Semi Final on Wednesday

Eagles coach, Keshi

Super Eagles have been told to beat Ghana in their semi-final clash on Wednesday and receive $100,000. The players got a similar offer before their pulsating quarter-final clash against the Atlas Lions of Morocco on Saturday. Eagles came from behind to win the match 4-3.

The Minister of Sports Bolaji Abdullahi, who applauded the fighting spirit of the Nigerian players. announced the fresh offer on Sunday. The offer is independent of their match-win bonuses from the Nigeria Football Federation.

Abdullahi said the team showed passion, discipline and commitment, which are hallmarks of the Nigerian spirit.

“With the kind of overwhelming joy that followed the victory across our country, one cannot but feel that perhaps, these players are destined to win the trophy,” Abdullahi said.

The minister then added that the players would get the first package  of the money before their next match on Wednesday.

Abdullahi said the cash incentive was government’s way of motivating the players to give their best and triumph over their opponents.

“If they qualify for the final and go ahead to win the trophy, they can be confident that a grateful nation will remember for a long time to come that they, with typical Nigerian grits and determination, have extended our dominance of African football.”

But as the Eagles prepare for their next game, the Moroccan coach, Hassan Benabicha, has said that his players disappointed him in the match against Nigeria.

The Lions lost a 3-0 lead in the second half of the dramatic match that ended 4-3 for Nigeria.

Benabicha, who spoke through an interpreter, told the News Agency of Nigeria in Cape Town, South Africa, on Sunday that his players failed to hold on to their early lead. He said his players could have consolidated on the lead and finish off the game in the second half.

“I am not disappointed with the result of the match. I am disappointed with my players because they were leading 3-0, only to later lose the game. This kind of opportunity rarely comes in a tournament like this,” he said.

Benabicha said the Super Eagles’ ability to recover from the three-goal deficit and win the match showed they were a good team.

“Let me congratulate the Nigerian team for such a good showing, having obtained such a wonderful result. At the interval in the dressing room, I told my players that the match was far from over as there was still a lot of work to be done. This is because the Nigerian team we faced are one of the best teams in the continent.

“I made a few changes after we conceded two goals in the second half but it will now appear from the result that it was a bit too late,” Benabicha said.

The coach said the team would go back to begin preparations for the Africa Cup of Nations, which Morocco would host in January 2015.