Efe Ambrose believes that there is one good reason why Nigeria will beat France- Lionel Messi.
Nigeria qualified for the last 16 after finishing runners up to Argentina after losing 3-2 in their group to earn a clash with the French today.
As the holders of the African Nations Cup Nigeria aren’t short on confidence with Ambrose expecting his stay in Brazil to extend beyond today’s tea-time clash with France.
“We will be ready to face France in the round of 16,” the Celtic defender said after the defeat from Argentina. “We desire to go as far we can.
“We played to win and I must commend my mates for a great game, we played well but we lost. Argentina have to thank Lionel Messi for this victory because it took his magic to beat us.”
The winners of today’s match will face Germany or Algeria for a place in the semi-finals with European hopes looking towards a France v Germany clash later this week.
Didier Deschamps side arrived quietly in Brazil but after taking seven points from Honduras, Ecuador and the Ivory Coast expectations are rising that the French can recapture past glories.
“It is good to be ambitious but winning the World Cup is not easy as one can see by the good teams that have already been eliminated,” said former Newcastle midfielder Yohan Cabaye. “I respect Nigeria, though we can beat them, but to say we are going to win the World Cup one has to be careful. There is still a long way to go.
“We are bidding to progress on Monday and go as far as possible but we must do that with the same mentality, determination and quality we have shown so far. We are going to play a very good team and if we lose we must accept that. There is little use in putting extra pressure on ourselves and adding weight on our expectations.”