The Nation Newspaper

Tag: AFCON

  • AFCON 2017 FALLOUT: Onazi roots for new Eagles coach

    AFCON 2017 FALLOUT: Onazi roots for new Eagles coach

    • Mum over retaining Siasia
    • Ready to play for Nigeria anytime

    Lazio FC of Italy’s midfielder, Oguenyi Onazi has stated categorically that Nigeria’s senior football team, the Super Eagles needs a new coach with the right technical savvy to mould the immensely talented players available into an invincible squad for the country.

    Onazi drew a parrallel between Nigeria’s Super Eagles and the current Barclays English Premier League leaders, Leicester FC of England when he revealed that the English side had ordinary players who last season barely escaped relegation stressing that: “Look at what the presence of a competent coach Claudio Raneri has done with those players at Leicester under one year.

    “Compare what Raneri has done with the average players he has moulded into good players with the Super Eagles that is filled with immensely talented players but who cannot qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations. Well, it is not my duty to say this but I feel deeply pained that Nigeria won’t be at the Africa Cup of Nations given the calibre of players available to the country.”

    Asked repeatedly on a Silverbird/The Nation’s television show’s exclsuive interview on Friday if he still wanted Samson Siasia to remain as the chief coach of the team, Onazi was evasive and did not say yes to the question, insisting that it wasn’t his duty to determine that pointing out that: “I’m ready to give my 120 per cent for Nigeria anytime I’m invited to play for the country, irrespective of who the coach is.”

  • AFCON 2017 FAILURE: Kanu criticises NFF

    AFCON 2017 FAILURE: Kanu criticises NFF

    Former Super Eagles captain, Nwankwo Kanu has criticised the Nigeria Football Federation’s (NFF) leadership which he says contributed to the national team failing to qualify for two consecutive Africa Cup of Nations.

    Nigeria’s loss in Egypt ruled them out of contention for Gabon 2017, leaving Kanu upset with the NFF.

    “What is happening with Nigerian football is that the top management is not what it is supposed to be so what is below is being affected,” Kanu told BBC Sport exclusively from Uganda.

    Ex-Arsenal forward, Kanu was in Uganda as an ambassador for both Unicef and Chinese cable station TV StarTimes, helping to market Ugandan players to the Chinese Premier League. He said the Nigeria Federation has to change its style of leadership if Nigeria are to achieve success.

    “When the head is not right, even your body won’t be right”, said Kanu.

    The two time African footballer of the year said it was a huge loss for Nigeria – who also failed to qualify for Equatorial Guinea in 2015 – to miss another Africa Cup of Nations.

    “When we are not at the Nations Cup, it’s not the same,” said Kanu.

    Kanu also highlighted the instability surrounding Nigeria coaches.

    Samson Siasia was placed in temporary charge of the Super Eagles for the Egypt qualifiers following the resignation of Sunday Oliseh.

    As the NFF search for a permanent successor to Oliseh, Kanu maintained it is worth persisting with a local coach.

    “Look at Stephen Keshi, he won the nations Cup and led the Super Eagles to the last 16 at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil,” Kanu explained.

    During his time in Uganda, Kanu had the opportunity to play football with children in Katanga, and saw some local matches.

    “I watched a game between KCCA FC and SC Villa in the 2016 Star Times Cup a few days ago and I saw a lot of talent that can go to the professional level.”

  • We don’t have quality players in Super Eagles – Amiesimaka

    We don’t have quality players in Super Eagles – Amiesimaka

    Ex-international, Adokiye Amiesimaka, says the lack of quality players in the Super Eagles is responsible for the drawback the team has been experiencing in recent times.

    Amiesimaka, who was a member of the victorious Green Eagles squad that won the 1980 AFCON in Lagos, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Wednesday.

    The former winger added that the players lacked the finesse needed to play at the world stage compared to what was obtainable in the 1980s and 1990s.

    “Sometimes one just gets bored you know talking about same thing; I have never seen any people as indulgent in wishful thinking as Nigerians.

    “We just don’t have the players; we don’t have the players; look at them individually; look at the quality; compare them to what we see every week in the (English) Premier League.

    “Compare (them) to what we see every week in La Liga; compare (them) to what we see every week in the Bundesliga; compare (them) to what we see every week in the South American league.

    “We just don’t have the quality expected; and if you like bring Alex Ferguson, bring Mourinho, bring Capello – still zero.

    “We don’t have the quality and I’m not surprised we did not win.

    “Even if we had won this game – from an objective analysis of it – you cannot be inspired, you cannot be inspired by it.’’

     

  • Nigeria’s chances slim as Chad withdraw from AFCON Qualifiers

    Nigeria’s chances slim as Chad withdraw from AFCON Qualifiers

    The Confédération of African Football (CAF) on Sunday announced the withdrawal of Chad from the ongoing qualifiers for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), scheduled for Gabon next January.

    In a report on its website, CAF said it was informed of the withdrawal by the Chadian Football Federation.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the withdrawal has thus left Group G, which has Nigeria, Tanzania and Egypt, with only three teams.

    It also meant Nigeria which had earlier beaten Chad 2-0 have been hard hit and would now need a miracle to qualify, following Friday’s home draw with group leaders Egypt.

    This was because CAF, on its website on Sunday, had said it was going to act in line with the competition’s regulations.

    “We shall act in conformity with Article 61 of the regulations of the competition which states: `If a team withdraws from the qualifying phase organised in groups, all its results shall be annulled (points, scored and conceded goals)’.’’

    This consequently means that the three matches of Chad in Group G are cancelled and the results will not be taken into consideration.

    Hence, the actual standings of the group will be as follows:

    Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts
    Egypt 2 1 1 0 4 1 +3 4
    Nigeria 2 0 2 0 1 1 0 2
    Tanzania 2 0 1 1 0 3 -3 1

    NAN reports further that, going by the decision of CAF’s Executive Committee on Jan. 15, 2015, the development has put the Super Eagles in a precarious position.

    According to CAF, any group reduced to three teams following the withdrawal of a team will have only the group winner qualifying for the final tournament.

    Before now, the group winners were to directly qualify, with the runners-up having the chance of qualifying through the best losers route, which was looking more likely for Nigeria.

    But now, Nigeria will now need to upstage Egypt, and this can only be by first beating them on Tuesday in Alexandria,

    Tanzania will now host Egypt on June 3, while Nigeria will host Tanzania on Sept. 2.

    Earlier, Nigeria had beaten visiting Chad 2-0 on June 13 while Egypt had beaten visiting Tanzania 3-0 on June 14.

    On Sept. 5, Nigeria had drawn goalless with hosts Tanzania, while Egypt had beaten hosts Chad 5-1 on Sept. 6.

    Tanzania had then on Wednesday put themselves in a good position to threaten Nigeria’s second place in the group by beating hosts Chad 1-0.

    Nigeria had then narrowed its chances of qualification by drawing 1-1 with Egypt on Friday in Kaduna, before Chad’s withdrawal on Sunday.

    Meanwhile, the Chadian Football Federation has been fined 20,000 U.S. Dollars and also barred from participating in the next edition of the AFCON.

    This is in conformity with Article 59 of the regulations of the competition.

    It states thus: “any association declaring forfeit after the start of the matches is liable to a fine of 20,000 U.S. Dollars. It will also not be allowed to participate in the next edition of the AFCON”.

  • Nigeria’s winning mentality, a threat to Egypt – Cuper

    Egypt coach Hector Cuper is fascinated with the mentality of Nigerian players, and he admitted that this is a major threat to theier dream of making to the 2017 AFCON in Gabon.

    “Nigeria is a strong team with excellent players who have a winning mentality as they play for big European clubs,” Argentinean boss Cuper explained.

    The coach believes that the Pharaohs were lucky to snatch the late equaliser against Nigeria while vowing to ring changes ahead of tomorrow’s second test.

    “I can’t deny that we were lucky to score the equaliser against Nigeria, but it was a reward for our performance through the whole match,” Cuper told Egyptian reporters after the match.

    “We delivered an outstanding performance in the first half, but we had some faults in the second and we didn’t maintain the same level. We will work to amend these mistakes in the coming period.

    “Some players were exhausted due to the hot weather and bad pitch, and I admit that we were late in our substitutions.

    “The whole team should be thanked for their performance amid these hard circumstances,” the former Valencia and Inter Milan boss concluded.

  • Green: My fear for Oliseh, AFCON qualifier

    Green: My fear for Oliseh, AFCON qualifier

    The Chairman of the Technical and Development Sub Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Christopher Green has revealed that the reported plan of the Super Eagles’ head coach, Sunday Oliseh to return to the country on March 10 ahead of the 2017 AFCON  qualifier against Egypt slated for 15 days later would derail Nigeria’s chances of featuring in Gabon.

    Green, in a chat with SportingLife, hinted that media reports that Oliseh plans to hit the country 15 days before a crucial AFCON qualifier against the Eagles’ main rivals won’t be to our advantage.

    He stated that the time between  Oliseh would be arriving the country and the match would be so short that it won’t be sufficient for serious preparations.

    Green wondered when the home-based players would be reporting to camp and when Oliseh is scheduled to submit his programme for ratification as well as the time planned for the foreign based players to hit camp.

    He told SportingLife that in spite of Oliseh’s inability to honour the technical and development committee meeting, the committee would still meet to deliberate on other issues concerning the various national teams.

  • AFCON: Egypt won’t escape defeat – Mikel

    AFCON: Egypt won’t escape defeat – Mikel

    Chelsea midfielder Mikel Obi has said the major priority for the Super Eagles on Friday is to defeat Egypt and boost the team’s chances of qualifying for next year’s African Nations Cup (AFCON) in Gabon.

    Nigeria lies two points behind the Egyptians in the qualifying group, but a win in Kaduna will see the three-time African champions leapfrog the North Africans before next week’s reverse fixture in Alexandria, Egypt, africanFootball.com reports.

    Chad hosts Tanzania in the group’s other match in Ndjamena.

    “The Egyptians are ahead of us in the qualifiers, we therefore have to win on Friday so as to go above them on the table,” Mikel told africanFootball.com.

    “So, Friday’s match is really the big one and we are playing at home. We are ready.”

     

     

  • 2017 AFCON qualifier: Etebo wants piece of pie against Egypt

    2017 AFCON qualifier: Etebo wants piece of pie against Egypt

    Oghenekaro Etebo was the break out star at the 2015 Africa U-23 Cup of Nations, finishing as the top scorer and subsequently picked the CAF award as the Most Promising talent last year but earning a first team place in the Super Eagles is a luxury he doesn’t think he’d be handed on a platter.

    The former Warri Wolves midfielder powered Nigeria to a first AFCON U-23 title but may not be on hand to help them against Brazil in the March 24 International friendly because of an AFCON qualifier against Egypt.

    Etebo, 20, told footballlive.ng that he intends to work hard and make a case for himself in the Super Eagles team for the double header against Egypt.

    Meanwhile, Super Eagles interim coach, Samson Siasia will only keep six NPFL-based players for the AFCON qualifier against Egypt.

    Three defenders, two midfielders and a goalie were retained by the selectors, sources in the camp confirmed.

    The list of six players was headlined by CAF 2015 Most Promising Talent, Oghenekaro Etebo (MF unattached), and Super Eagles B first choice goalie, Ikechukwu Ezenwa (GK Sunshine Stars).

    Ifeanyi Matthew (MF, Kano Pillars), Chibuzor Okonkwo (DF, FC IfeanyiUbah), Orji Kalu (DF, Enugu Rangers), Matthew Etim (DF, Enugu Rangers) make up the list.

  • Cuper happy with preparation for Nigeria matches

    Cuper happy with preparation for Nigeria matches

    Egyptian national team coach, Hector Cuper, said his team is ready for Nigeria, insisting he is happy with the preparations for this month’s African Nations Cup (AFCON) qualifiers against the five-time World Cup participants.

    The Argentine tactician has vowed to correct the lapses noticed during last weekend friendly against Burkina Faso.

    Egypt defeated the Burkinabes 2-0 at the Borg El-Arab stadium in Alexandra.

    “I am satisfied with the Burkina Faso game and I will work to avoid the mistakes made in the friendly when we face Nigeria,” africanFootball.com quoted Cuper as saying at post game press conference.

    “We almost reached the final line-up for the Nigeria game.

    “We build our squad depending on the players’ performance in the recent games.

    “The Nigeria game is a test to determine our real abilities, and we will do our best during this game.

    “I understand the criticism after facing minor teams since we didn’t reach the high performance we all look for. But we will do that when we play against Nigeria.”

     

  • NFF in talks with Enyeama, Emenike

    NFF in talks with Enyeama, Emenike

    The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) says it is in talks with Vincent Enyeama and Emmanuel Emenike, former goalkeeper and striker respectively, over possible return to Super Eagles.

    Super Eagles Interim Coach Samson Siasia who said this in an interview with newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday, said the aim was to ensure that the country assembles its best legs against Egypt.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the Super Eagles have crucial two-legged Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), qualifying matches against the Pharaohs of Egypt.

    The first leg encounter takes place in Kaduna on March 25, while the return leg match is scheduled for Cairo on March 29.

    Siasia said NFF was exploring every avenue capable of bringing success, adding that it had taken steps to facilitate the players’ return to the team.

    “We just finished talking with the NFF Technical Director, Shaibu Amadu; we are just putting the list of invited players together and after the NFF Technical Committee meeting on Thursday, the list should be released,’’ he said.

    “The Super Eagles’ Secretary, Dayo Enebi, will be contacting the invited players and he is talking with Enyeama and Emenike; we will talk with them when they are ready to talk.

    “We will be happy to see these players back in the team if they can help us to qualify for 2017 AFCON,’’ he said.

    The Olympic silver medal winning coach, however, said he was not under any pressure to win Egypt.

    “The job for me is tasking but we are here for challenges and, being a challenge does not mean that it is a mountain we cannot climb.

    “I am not feeling any pressure; all I want to do is to ensure we do well in the two games against Egypt.’’

    NAN reports that Siasia was appointed on Friday by the NFF as interim Super Eagles coach following the resignation of Sunday Oliseh.

    He is to be assisted by Flying Eagles’ coach Emmanuel Amuneke, Salisu Yusuf and Alloy Agu.