Former Super Eagles midfielder Garba Lawal has called on the team to forget the opening game against Croatia and focus on how to bounce back against Iceland on Friday.

The Three-time African champions face the World Cup first timers at the Volgograd Arena in Volgograd in the bid to register their first win of the tournament.

Garba Lawal was a key member of the last Nigerian team that won the country’s first opening game at the World Cup.

He was speaking about the Super Eagles in a chat with Punch. In his words, the former midfielder said: “The Eagles tried their best but it was not enough against a more experienced Croatian side. The match has been played and lost, so we shouldn’t be dwelling much on it.”

“Losing against Croatia doesn’t mean that the Eagles are out of the World Cup, it only means that they have to do more to qualify from a group that is tough. What we see in the match is football – you win, lose draw some.

“But I will expect the team to begin preparations for the Iceland match because that will be tougher than what we saw against Croatia. The Iceland team is more compact and organised and as such, they will be very difficult to play against.

“What they did against Argentina is a pointer to the fact that they are very deadly and dangerous, so the Eagles need to be aware of this. If not that they were unlucky; they would have won the game.

“The Eagles need to step up their game and go for the best they can get against Iceland if they want to leave the group. It will be difficult but the Eagles can get the job done if they correct the lapses noticed yesterday.” Garba Lawal concluded.