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Pinnick urges Nigeria not to rest on laurels vs. Algeria

Nigeria's Alex Iwobi (c) celebrates with teammates Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP/Getty Images

NFF President Amaju Pinnick is determined that Nigeria will end their World Cup qualifying campaign on a high note, and has revealed that the Super Eagles will not play a weakened side against Algeria in their final Group B fixture.

The two continental giants meet in Constantine on Friday November 10, and Pinnick is committed to ending the campaign on a high.

"The temptation is there to rest on oars because we have already qualified," the nation's footballing chief told thenff.com, "but we would not do that.

"I am happy the technical crew led by the Technical Adviser has already made it known they would be fielding Nigeria's best squad on the day.

"The Secretariat must quickly finalise all arrangements," he added. "The match in Constantine must be seen as a FIFA World Cup preparation match, just like the one against Argentina in Russia four days later.

"We will go with our best and give our best, to get in the FIFA World Cup mood."

Nigeria are on the verge of completing the qualifiers unbeaten, surpassing their best performance which was achieved en route to the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France.

Despite being drawn in the Group of Death alongside Algeria, Cameroon and Zambia, Nigeria have outclassed their opponents during the campaign.

They've profited from Les Fennecs' implosion and the Indomitable Lions' post-Africa Cup of Nations malaise, and secured their spot at Russia next summer after beating Zambia 1-0 in Uyo last month.