Nigeria insisted on Thursday they will put their African Nations Cup disappointment behind them and bounce back in style when the 2006 World Cup qualifiers get underway in June.
The Super Eagles were denied a shot at a possible third African title when they lost a penalty shoot-out to hosts Tunisia in Wednesday's semi-final but their players believe the team is united enough to have a major impact at the next World Cup.
"There is nothing to despair about," said midfielder Garba Lawal who thought his team's lacklustre performance against Tunisia could have been caused by the mentally draining task of beating champions Cameroon in the quarter-finals.
"Nigeria are still a good team. We have lots of promising youngsters in the side and my only concern is that they sustain their consistency in the World Cup qualifiers.
"The other teams will be raising their games when they face us."
Nigeria will face Algeria, Angola, Zimbabwe, Gabon and Rwanda when the joint 2006 World Cup and 2006 Nations Cup qualifying campaign gets underway.
Midfielder Oluwaseyi Olofinjana also believes the World Cup qualifiers can't come soon enough for Nigeria.
"This Nations Cup was a good tournament for us," said Olofinjana.
"We can only get better from here and I think we are certainly one of the favourites to qualify for the World Cup in Germany."
Nigerian Football Federation chairman Ibrahim Galadima wouldn't comment on the future of coach Christian Chukwu but said crucial decisions on the squad's future will be made next month.
"This Nations Cup was a good tournament for us. We reached the semi-finals when many people didn't give us a chance and our next target will be to qualify for the World Cup," Galadima told AFP.
"With the talent we have in the squad, there is no reason why we can't make it to Germany. The only problem remains getting the best out of our talented players.
"By March, we hope to take decisions on the way forward for Nigerian football but, in the meantime, we can take important lessons from this tournament.
"One good thing is that, for the first time in a long time, there were no arguments over cash with the players and the team was not disgraced."
Skipper Jay Jay Okocha, who had given Nigeria the lead in the semi-final with a 67th minute penalty before opposite number Khaled Badra levelled also from the spot with eight minutes left, praised the Tunisians.
"I say good luck to them in the final," said the Bolton skipper.
"Luck went their way and I congratulate them for their courage. I admired their team spirit."
samm-dj/jd04