The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Africa Cup of Nations

  • 2015 Africa cup of nations: Hope rises as Nigeria secures first win

    2015 Africa cup of nations: Hope rises as Nigeria secures first win

    Nigeria’s Super Eagles on Wednesday evening defeated Sudan 3-1 in a Group A match of the 2015 Afcon qualifiers played at the National Stadium in Abuja.

    With one point from three matches in the group, the Super Eagles knew nothing short of a win will do the team any good and they went all out in the opening exchanges.

    John Obi Mikel had a chance for glory in the ninth minute but chose to pass to Aaron Samuel who scoffed his shot as the Eagles signalled their intent early on.

    Emmanuel Emenike, leading the line in the Eagles attack combined effectively in the 15th minute to tee up Ahmed Musa but Sudan were able to shut down the attack.

    The Falcons of Jediane were having joy down the right flank where makeshift right back Ogenyi Onazi was having a torrid time containing the Sudanese attackers especially Babeker Bakri.

    Nigeria were doing most of the running with Ahmed Musa proving a constant threat but the Sudanese were content with soaking up the pressure and hitting Nigeria on the break.

    Raheem Lawal’s effort in the 28th minute missed target narrowly as Nigeria began to get a hold of the game

    Samuel was a livewire in front for Nigeria chasing all the lose balls and trying to get the attack going as Sudan began to gain in confidence as the first half ended.

    The Super Eagles came into the second half with refreshed vigour and it took only three minutes for Nigeria to open their account.

    Mikel waltzed through a sea of Sudanese midfielders to lay the ball for Ahmed Musa to slot into the net to put Nigeria ahead.

    Sudan got their equaliser in the 56th minute after a quick free kick into Nigeria’s box was not dealt with as the Eagles were rocked.

    The goal jolted the Eagles as Mikel’s brilliant free-kick was saved by Sudanese goalkeeper as the Nigerians went in search of another goal to take the lead.

    China-based Samuel got Nigeria back into the lead in the 65th after Nigeria laid siege on the Sudanese defence Nigeria continued to push for another goal with Mikel leading the charge and the impressive Samuel keeping the visitors defence awake with darting runs.

    Sone Aluko and Ahmed Musa were a constant menace for the Sudanese defence and the CSKA Moscow man put Nigeria 3-1 up in the 90th minute after dribbling past the entire Sudan defence

    Nigeria now have four points after four matches in Group A of the 2015 Afcon qualifiers, one ahead of Sudan who now drop to bottom of the group.

  • ‘WE’LL GIVE OUR BEST

    ‘WE’LL GIVE OUR BEST

    Ahead of the double-header Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Sudan on Saturday October 11th, and 15th, SL10.ng spoke to SS Lazio and Super Eagles midfielder Eddy Ogenyi Onazi.
    He talks about about the games against Sudan, his new contract with SS Lazio, ambition of playing in England and more. Enjoy.

    Obviously we will start by talking about Sudan now. That’s the popular topic in Nigeria at the moment. Share your thoughts with us please.

    Well we are preparing hard, and we are putting in serious effort and as you’re aware, we have been training twice daily under the heat. The weather here is a little bit harsh I must say, but we’re expecting a harsher weather condition over there in Sudan. We have been trying to acclimatize ourselves with the weather, because we expect it to be more difficult there. We pray to God to give us the grace to get all three points against them, because we’re doing all we can to see that we get all three points.

     

    You talked about the weather, because I was going to ask you about that. You acknowledged it’s going to be a difficult one in Sudan but would you say you’re now prepared for it?

    Yes and like I said, it is what we expect and we have been training under similar conditions in Abuja but we expect something more difficult there. But I’d like to think we’re prepared for it.

     

    How much would you say you know the Sudanese and have you studied them?

    Yeah, because I tried to watch some of their games and at least I know one or two things about them and we’re trying to do everything possible to withstand whatever threat they may pose and also pose our own threat. Like I’ve been saying, it’s not going to be easy but we know what we want and we know what we’re doing so we will give out our best, I’m sure of that. It is something that I’m sure we can do.

     

    Can you assure Nigerians that they would smile at the end of that day?

    Well, I’m not God and I cannot make promises but we just have to put in a good shift and get the required result. We also hope that Nigerians will smile at the end of the game, because whenever Nigerians are happy with our performances, we are also happy so it is something that we hope to achieve.

     

    What about qualification to Morocco 2015, can you make promises?

    Again, I will say that I’m not God to say with 100% certainty that we will make it to Morocco, what we have to do is just our home work and ensure we win our games and from there we will know the next step. But we will put in our best to make sure we win.

     

    How do you feel about Nigeria’s one point from a possible six, would you say you’re going into the Sudan games under pressure?

    I wouldn’t say that, because football is always like that, you can never win every time. Sometimes you win, sometimes you draw, and sometimes you lose. So it is not a problem. So whenever a win comes, you savour it but the most important thing is to be serious at all times, and to be determined enough to win.

     

    Alright, let’s talk about your new contract with Lazio. It’s obviously a much more improved contract so does this mean those interests from some English clubs are ended now?

    (Laughs)…I believe God has plans for everything because if you go faster than you should, you could fall. So I believe God has his own plans for me but for now, I’m with Lazio, and I have a contract with them but if anything else is to happen in the near future, we’ll see (Laughs).

     

    It has been a season of mixed results for Lazio, how do you see the season so far?

    We have a new coach and when a new coach comes in, he often tries his tactics with different players and try to know which ones best suit you and in the process, there could be mixed results. But if you see the league table now, I think we’re either sixth or seventh and results have improved immensely and I believe that’s how we’ll continue.

     

    Thank you very much Onazi

  • 2015 Africa Cup of Nations: NO COACH FOR EAGLES

    2015 Africa Cup of Nations: NO COACH FOR EAGLES

    • Keshi’s negotiations may continue till September – NFF
    • May opts for plan B; Amodu, Chukwu, others mentioned

    The Nigeria Football Federation(NFF) has admitted that contract negotiations with Stephen Keshi may drag on till September, when the Super Eagles begin their qualifiers for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

    SL10 had earlier reported that contract negotiations with the ‘Big Boss’, as Keshi is called and the NFF may linger, given the list of demands that Keshi has, if he’s to continue as coach of the Africa champions. Sl10 also reported that the NFF may be having alternate plans – which includes but not restricted to Keshi taking temporary charge of the Eagles for their first qualifier against the Bees of Rwanda on September 5, if contract talks are not settled before then.

    And now, an executive member of the NFF, ‘Deji Tinubu has admitted that talks between them and Keshi could stretch into when the qualifiers will begin.

    “It’s possible that our discussions with Keshi could stretch into when we play our first qualifier, but we have made plans for such eventuality,” he told Hot FM.

    “We have a plan B, if negotiations with Keshi are not completed before the qualifiers. There is a plan in place to take care of that, and if it does happen that we didn’t conclude negotiations with him, then we’ll put the other plan in motion,” he said.

    Tinubu also confirmed that they have sent a draft of the new contract terms to Keshi, who’s presently in the USA, for consideration and to either send a counter-draft or agreement but posited that they expect a counter-draft with Keshi’s own demands.

    “We received a letter of acceptance from him on Monday, after we sent him a letter of intent last week. So now we have sent him a draft of the contract terms from our view, and we expect him to send either a counter-draft or an agreement notice.

    “But the truth is, at this stage of negotiations, we are expecting a counter-draft as he’s expected to give us his terms before we finally come to an agreement,” he said.

    Part of Keshi’s demands, it is believed, is a 100% increment on his N5million monthly salary which should see him earn N10million monthly. Also for one of his trusted comrades, Sylvanus Okpala to be returned as one of his assistants, and the salary of Valere Houandonou to be paid for by the NFF. The ‘Big Boss’ had been paying the Togolese out of his own pocket.

    Keshi is also expected to demand for a free hand to lead the Super Eagles, without the ‘interference’ of the technical committee and also for travel tickets to and from for when he’s on leave or holiday to see his family in the USA.

    But reports has it that the NFF are willing to agree to those terms, bar the salary increment. The NFF are understood to be offering an increment of N2million, which means Keshi should earn N7million and not the N10million he’s expected to ask for.