Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi says Bosnia-Herzegovina’s attacking mentality could suit his players when the two teams clash in Cuiaba.
After starting their FIFA World Cup campaign with a 0-0 draw with Iran, Nigeria will take on Bosnia-Herzegovina at the Arena Pantanal on Saturday with both teams looking for their first win of the tournament.
The Europeans lost 2-1 to Argentina in their first Group F match, but could leapfrog Nigeria with a win in Cuiaba.
Keshi is confident Bosnia-Herzegovina’s tendency to attack at all costs could suit Nigeria, even though the African champions have not won in six matches, hinting that negative defensive play from Iran was the reason for his side starting the World Cup with a scoreless draw.
“The goals were not coming (against Iran), and we had a lot of anxiety, which is part of the game,” the 52-year-old said at his press conference on Friday.
“This is why we could not maintain our style of play and were trying to force the game in an attempt just to win. Tomorrow is a different game, playing a Bosnian team with a different mentality to Iran.”
The match against Iran was the third time in five fixtures that Nigeria have been held to a scoreless draw.
On June 3, Greece and Nigeria played 90 minutes without a goal, while in March it was Mexico that held Keshi’s team to 0-0.
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