Nigeria dare world champions

Super Eagles © Shengolpix

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Nigeria's Super Eagles are underdogs going into the last leg of their group game at the Fifa Confederations Cup against world and European champions, Spain this Sunday.
Group B of the Confederations Cup in Brazil was kicked wide open following Uruguay's 2-1 win over the Super Eagles at the Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador, Bahia on Thursday.
Stephen Keshi and his team know that they have a mountain to climb against the tiki-taka playing Spaniards at the Estadio Castelao in Fortaleza.
Spain have been in cruise control of Group B after two wins out of two including the 10-0 mauling of minnows, Tahiti.
Vincent del Bosque's men have not lost a competitive game since their 0-1 loss to Switzerland at the 2010 Fifa World Cup while the African champions just had their 18-match unbeaten run truncated by Uruguay bringing to an end a 13-month streak.
Keshi will lead his men into this tie with two of his key players, Nnamdi Oduamadi and Ahmed Musa, doubtful.
Both players suffered knocks in the loss to Uruguay though Musa could still figure in the tie while Oduamadi has a 50-50 chance of making the squad for this tie.
But Spain could recall the core of their first-team players that includes the like of Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas, Roberto Soldado and Iker Casillas.
Nigeria have a mathematical chance of reaching the last four but will have to beat Spain to give themselves that chance.
However the odds are heavily stacked against the African champions pulling off an upset though they will draw inspiration from their predecessors in 1998 who stunned Spain 3-2 at the Fifa World Cup in France - the only head-to-head meeting between both nations at senior level in competitive football.
Keshi is not writing off his team just yet ahead of the game.
"Anything can happen in football, even beating Spain," Keshi was quoted in this week's Marca as saying.
In January this year, the Super Eagles played against Catalonia in a friendly that ended 1-1 but this Spain will offer a different opposition when the game gets underway from 7pm Nigerian time on Sunday.