Super Eagles head coach, Stephen Keshi and star striker, Emmanuel Emenike believe Saturday's second leg tie of the 2014 FIFA World Cup play-off against the Walya Ibex of Ethiopia will be tougher than the first leg in Addis Ababa last month despite playing at their slaughter slab, the U.J Esuene stadium in Calabar.
Keshi says he and his boys will approach the game as if it was a cup final because doing otherwise is tantamount to toying with the World Cup ticket.
Keshi however is not banking on any record as he prepares his team for Saturday's game.
"We have not qualified but on the verge of doing so and we must not let down our guards at this crucial moment. Ethiopia are still a threat despite losing 2-1 at home because they are a very good side and have been together for up to five years unlike our team which is relatively young and new,'' said Keshi at the media interactive session in Calabar on Wednesday.
When asked whether Nigeria can win the World Cup in Brazil, looking beyond Ethiopia, he said it was a possibility. "Nothing is impossible in football and we can win in Brazil but the immediate task at hand is to qualify first for the World Cup.''
Echoing his coach's sentiments, Emenike reckons the game on Saturday will be tougher than people are imagining and warns against underestimating the Ethiopians.
"The game in Calabar will be tougher for us than the one in Addis Ababa (in Ethiopia). We have to be careful and get ready for another big business in Calabar,"
Emenike, who will be one of the key players for Nigeria told FIFA.com.
"Ethiopia is very good and they will be coming here with more tricks. So, we shouldn't see the first victory as the end of road."
While Emenike has warned his teammates about Ethiopia, the striker is quietly confident about Nigeria's chances of qualifying for Brazil 2014.
"I am glad to have played in the Nations Cup and won but I am dreaming of playing in my first World Cup for Nigeria," Emenike said.
"That will be the first time I will be at the World Cup and to get to play in Brazil, where they are crazy about football, would be a dream comes true."
The Fenerbahce forward has rejected comparisons with Rashidi Yekini, a legend of Nigerian football who holds the country's all-time international scoring record of 37 goals.
"Rashidi Yekini's shoes are still too big for me to wear. I am only trying to do what I know is best for my fatherland and I have not done anything yet," Emenike said.
"I still have a lot to do to get to the heights reached by such a legend."
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