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Former Nigeria international Uche Okafor believes the Super Eagles can qualify from the 'Group of Death', but he has played down their chances of progressing further than the second round at the World Cup.

Okafor, a member of the squad which won the 1994 African Nations Cup in Tunisia, and a participant in that year's World Cup finals in America, pointed to the team's difficult preparations.

"I personally would not put so much expectation on the team," he told Nigerian newspaper Vanguard.

"The players have not been together a long time.

"Also, too many players have been tried in the friendlies to date.

"For me, if we qualify from our group, that's enough achievement.

"The team has not blended together. The friendly matches have no doubt been good for us, especially the one against the Republic of Ireland which I consider our best game."

Nigeria beat Ireland 2-1 in Dublin, but Okafor prefers to look beyond this year's finals when Festus Onigbinde's younger players can develop unfettered.

"We have a lot of young players who will remain with the team after the World Cup," he added.

"They will surely learn a lot, and this will stand them in good stead for future challenges.

"Let us not think of setting a record now, of beating the second round finishes of the previous two World Cups. Let us think of the team playing well.

"And I believe they can do that because, unlike the previous finals that we attended, nobody is talking about Nigeria this time.

"My expectation is that we qualify from our group. England, Argentina and Sweden are tough teams, but they are not unbeatable."

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