Sports We will qualify for Round-of-16 - Stephen Keshi

[Titilope Adeuja]

Nigeria's head coach, Stephen Keshi has expressed his unwavering belief that the Super Eagles will go through to the Round-of-16 at the on-going FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

Despite a dour display against Iran in their opening match and a tensed and slim 1-0 win over Bosnia-Herzgovina, Keshi is determined to push the boys to work harder.

Should the match against Argentina end in a draw or a Bosnia victory over Iran, the West African nation will be through to the next round.

Keshi commented, "Everybody is happy in West Africa - Ghana got their result (a 2-2 draw against Germany) and we won. It’s good for the continent.

"The fighting spirit we showed was good. I never thought that we wouldn't make the round of 16. I have the players.

"But look at Iran today, if it was not for Lionel Messi (they would have held Argentina). We need to work hard for the game against Argentina."

The goal hero, Peter Odemwingie, praised the team spirit ahead of his goal.

"The goal means a lot to me, but the win was down to 90 minutes of concentration and effort from my team-mates.

"The most important thing today was the character. We even enjoyed defending together.

"I didn’t expect to come back and score a winner in such an important game, but I’m very happy.

"This was a point the team earned. Right now I’m so high on our team’s performance."