Super Eagles’ coach, Stephen Keshi, will tomorrow face his first baptism of fire as he plays  his first match as the Head Coach of the nation’s senior national team against the Zebras of Botswana.

The international friendly match slated for the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin-City, Edo State.

Keshi, who will be assisted by former Nigerian internationals, Daniel Amokachi, Silvanus Okpalla and Ike Shorounmu, is expected to use the friendly encounter to regain the confidence of the Eagles’ fans after the Nation’s Cup qualifying disaster.

According to Keshi, a former coach of Hawks of Togo, the Zebras’ match against Eagles may be a friendly encounter but it has a big role to play on how the new Super Eagles’ team will look like. He added that the game will be used to see his players for the first time in a competitive game.

“Tomorrow’s match is a friendly encounter indeed but will have a significant role to play in bringing back the winning mentality of the Eagles and hopefully gain the confidence of the teeming supporters of our darling team,” he said.

Keshi promised Nigerians of his readiness to turn around the poor run of the Eagles by imposing a winning mentality on the players and other members of the crew.

He added that it is pertinent for the team to start imposing fear in the hearts of their opponents as it was in the glorious days of the Eagles.

The players themselves have resolved that on no account will they lose the match in Benin tomorrow as the failure to secure the Nations Cup ticket under coach Samson Siasia has taught them a bitter lesson.

Meanwhile, coach of the Zebras of Botswana, Stanley Tshosane, has warned the Nigerian team not to expect an easy game in tomorrow’s encounter.

Tshosane said his team are in Nigeria for their nation’s pride. He attested to the fact that Super Eagles are a force to reckon with in African football despite the misfortune the team experienced in recent times.

“My team are here to play for the pride of our nation and prove to the world that our qualification for the Nations Cup was not  a fluke. The Eagles are a good side, but we’ll give them a tough time,” he said.