LAGOS, June 18 (Xinhua) -- The Super Eagles of Nigeria still had chance to progress to the knockout stage of the Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup, Amaju Pinnick, President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) said Monday.
He said in Lagos, Nigeria's economic hub that in spite of the Eagles' 2-0 loss to Croatia, the team could still make something out of the Group D.
The Nigerian team faltered in their first match of the World Cup losing to Croatia via Oghenekaro Etebo's own goal and Luka Modric penalty.
Pinnick said no team in Group D can yet boast of qualification, adding that in football, a lot is possible if the heart is there to go out and conquer.
"Losing your first match of a major competition is not an automatic exit ticket. Spain lost their first match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals and still went ahead to win the tournament," he added.
"We have a young team that can achieve so much with the right attitude and invention, and we must now reach deep down for those qualities when we play Iceland in Volgograd," he said.
The NFF president and member of the CAF Executive Committee, also appealed to Nigerians back home to continue to support the young team with kind words.
The Super Eagles returned to their team base camp in Essentuki on Sunday, and have commenced training for Friday's encounter at the 45,000-capacity Volgograd Arena.