Nigerian officials happy after being paired with Ethiopia in World Cup play-off

Mohamad Mosselhi , Monday 16 Sep 2013

The Nigeria football association's secretary-general says Ethiopia is best possible draw for the Super Eagles

Nigeria
File photo: Nigeria's players celebrate after scoring against Burkina Faso during their African Nations Cup (AFCON 2013) final soccer match in Johannesburg February 10, 2013 (Photo: Reuters)

The secretary-general of Nigeria’s football association, Musa Amadu, said he was happy to see Nigeria paired with Ethiopia in the World Cup qualifiers play-offs in Africa.

Ethiopia are the lowest ranked team among the ten qualified African teams, coming 93rd in the FIFA global rankings, and 25th in Africa.

"I actually think we couldn't have had a better draw," Amadu told KickOffNigeria.com.

"We got the lowest ranked team in the draw. They are number 25 in Africa and 93 in the world, and we getting to play the first leg away from home. It is really the best we could have got out of the draw."

Despite his optimism regarding the draw, Amadu warned the Super Eagles not to underestimate Ethiopia.

"We need to be well-prepared," he said.

"Last time we were in Ethiopia for an African Nations Cup qualifier, we had to scrape to get a 2-2 draw.

"We can't take them for granted. They qualified from a difficult group including Botswana and South Africa and we really must prepare very well against them."

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