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Malkia Strikers coach Paul Bitok has urged his charges not to underrate Nigeria ahead of their last Tokyo Olympics qualifier on Friday at Palais polyvalent des sports (Paposy) Arena on Thursday.
Kenya top the standings with eight points from three matches and need a win of any kind to seal a return to the Olympics after a 16-year hiatus.
Nigeria hauled themselves from the bottom of the log with a surprise 3-1 (25-18, 20-25, 25-20, 25-23) victory over Botswana on Wednesday.
“We have not yet qualified, we have played three matches and have one left. It’s important that we concentrate and complete the job. Cameroon are down but not out, if we lose against Nigeria they can get the ticket. Our focus is to win that game and seal the ticket,” warned Bitok.
Nigeria coach Samuel Ajayi said his side had shown remarkable improvement during the tournament and hopes to sign off with a decent performance against Kenya.
“I am happy with the progress of my team. We started with two teams (Cameroon and Egypt) which were clearly above our level but today’s win against Botswana shows we have learnt something,” said Ajayi.
“Kenya is a big team. We have maximum respect for them and we know they will be looking to consolidate their place. They have been outstanding in this tournament so we hope to give a good account of ourselves,” he added.
Cameroon was taking on Egypt in their last match of the competition by the time of going to press.
