Tag: Chan Eagles

• By Victor Oguntade with Agency Reports

Despite crashing out of the 9^th African  Nations Championships  in the East Africa,  Super Eagles B captain Nduka Junior is happy  that Nigeria  ended their drought  with a 2-0  thrashing of Congo  in their last Group D  match played in Dar es Salam on Tuesday.

Following their  previous two losses to Senegal (1-0) and Sudan (4-0), the coach Eric Sekou Chelle-led side had only their pride to play for on Tuesday  and they took-out Congo with two second half goals by Anas Yusuf and Sikiru Alimi.  

Victory means  the  Super Eagles B (3 points)   came third behind Sudan (5 points)  and  Senegal  (5 points) that picked the two available  tickets from Group B while Congo came fourth (2 points).

“We’re happy we won, at least we’re not fourth on the table,” said Junior.in a post-match interview. “At the same time, we’re not happy we’re out of the competition, it’s a sad thing for us. We’re quite unfortunate, that’s what football is – anything can happen.”

The 22-year-old who also doubles as Remo Stars’ captain , attributed Super Eagles B’s  elimination to mistakes made in the first two matches, which they were able to correct in the final game.

“We lost two games due to mistakes, and I think in this last game, we were able to correct it,” he  added.

Meanwhile,  the CAF  Technical Study Group (TSG) for the CHAN 2024, has rated the standard of the  competition  even as they tipped  Group B surprise table topper, Sudan, as one of the of the stand-out teams  of the group phase.

Former Ethiopian national team coach Abraham Mebratu and ex-South African international Mark Fish, both members of the competition’s TSG,   reportedly made the observations on Tuesday as guests  of leading Kenyan television station NTV to explore key technical insights on the group stage of the competition.

According to CAF Website, Fish noted a visible shift in how teams approach matches compared to the previous tournament.

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 “We are seeing a shift from the last CHAN where teams have been more proactive. Teams are now more attack-minded, with dynamic formations, and even defenders stepping up to act almost like midfielders,” Fish told NTV in Kenya.

This evolution has produced more goals. With 36 matches played, 74 goals have been scored—an average of two per game.

Burkina Faso’s 4-2 victory over the Central African Republic remains the highest-scoring match, while Sudan’s 4-0 triumph over Nigeria in Zanzibar is the biggest margin.

Mebratu  on the other hand, emphasized the improvement of East African teams, including Sudan, who have combined fitness with technical organization.

“The players are physically fit and play with very good technical and tactical ability. Their organization both in and out of possession has been really impressive,” he noted.

Super Eagles B captain Nduka Junior along with  two other teammates, Aniekeme Okon (Remo Stars) and Leonard Ngenge (Ikorodu City), has admitted they are reeling with the atmospheric pressure  at their Ikenne training camp but remains optimistic of making  the final cut for the  forthcoming  2024 African Nations Championship.

The delayed 2024 African Nations Championship otherwise  known as the 2024 CHAN , will hold in east Africa between August 3 and 20.

Over 20 players  are already sweating it out  under Franco-Malian coach Eric Sekou Chelle and his lieutenants  and  the 21-year-old Junior who also doubles as captain of  home side, Remo Stars, admitted  it  would not be as easy as A-B-C to make  the Super Eagles’ final squad for the CHAN tournament.

He exuded confidence that he would do what he can to ensure he makes the final cut for the competition to be jointly-hosted by  Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

“We have had a fine training session. It has been very intense in camp and the boys are ready for the task ahead,” Junior said. “Everyone is under pressure but however the coach wants the best among the  players in camp.”

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Speaking in the same vein, Remo Stars’  striker, Okon, said he was thrilled with the chance to be invited to the  CHAN Eagles’ camp in Ikenne, expressing his  determination to make the squad to the competition.

“I see it as an opportunity so far and the experience has been fantastic,” the 26-year-old striker who once star for Kano Pillars, said.  “ We are under a bit of pressure because of the number of players invited and everybody is ready to give their best.

 “We are hopeful of quality selection from the coaches,” Okon added.

On his part, Ikorodu City’s Ngenge sees his call up as an good step in his budding career and he remains upbeat about  making the squad to the competition.

“It is an amazing step for me to be invited to camp. We are under pressure but I must remain focused and do my best to be picked by the coaches,” he said.

Nigeria are in Group D and they will face  Congo Brazzaville, defending champions Senegal and Sudan in the CHAN 2024.

Plateau United midfielder, Sadiq Abubakar, Philip Adejoh Ojonugwa (Abia Warriors), Isaac Saviour (Rangers), Papa Daniel Mustapha and Waliu Ojetoye (Ikorodu City) have all been declared ineligible to feature for the Super Eagles B after they went out of the country to seek greener pastures abroad.

The five players along with Ifeanyi Onyebuchi (Rangers) who is out injured and Ifeanyi Harcourt (Sporting Lagos) who is presently out of the country because of his engagement with the Flying Eagles are all our of the team.

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In a short press statement from the Media department, it was stated that: “These five players have become ineligible to feature for Nigeria at the CHAN tournament. They have all moved out to sign for clubs outside of Nigeria.

Abubakar Sadiq (Plateau United), Philip Adejoh Ojonugwa (Abia warriors,  Saviour Isaac (Rangers), Papa Daniels Mustapha (Niger Tornadoes) and Waliu Ojetoye (Ikorodu City)

“Ifeanyi Onyebuchi of Rangers is injured and will not report to camp while goalkeeper Ifeanyi Harcourt of Sporting Lagos will be busy with the under 20 team.”

The CHAN Eagles yesterday  began  preparation in earnest in Ikenne, Ogun State  for the forthcoming  CAF CHAN 2024 to be jointly-hosted  by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda in  the eastern part of Africa.

According to the Super Eagles media officer, Promise Efoghe,  an impressive 21  players observed  the team’s first training session  which began  under floodlight at 7pm, adding additional 14 invited players are expected to join the team today.

Nigeria is drawn in a tricky Group D along with defending champions Senegal , Congo and Sudan. 

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Names of Players in camp:

Nduka Junior ( Remo Stars);Harrison Austin (Ikorodu City);Lawal Mustapha (Shooting Stars);Abdulrafiu Taiwo (Rivers United); Temitope Vincent (Plateau United);Adedayo Olanipekun( Remo stars);Adelani Shola  (Ikorodu City);Nurudeen Badmos (Kwara United);Sadiq Ismail ( Remo Stars);

Taofeek Otaniyi ( Rivers United );Kayode Bankole  (Remo Stars);Ani Henry  (Rivers United);

Egbe Stephen  (Rivers United);Atule Joseph ( Enyimba);Tochukwu Michael (Remo Stars);Aniekeme Okon (Rivers United);Ayomide Cole ( Ikorodu City);Sikiru Alimi (Remo Stars);Afeez Bankole (Kwara United);Leonard Ngenge( Ikorodu City );Hadi Haruna (Remo Stars).

Super Eagles B Stand-in Head coach, Daniel Ogunmodede, has added five more players to join the 18 that travelled to Accra for the first leg of their  African Nations Championship (CHAN) qualifier that ended goalless against Ghana last weekend. 

The 18 players who represented Nigeria at the first leg included 44-year-old Rabiu Ali who didn’t start the fixture on Sunday while Nduka Junior who was the captain of the squad on the night, led the team’s  attack with Sikiru Alimi  and Anas Yusuf.

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The squad also included Ikorodu City’s captain Waliu Ojetoye, Nasarawa United defender, Victor Collins, as well as goalkeepers Henry Ozoemena and Kayode Bankole.

The five players who are set to join the squad include Badmus Gbadamosi (Kwara United), Temitope Vincent (Plateau United), Kazeem Ogunleye (Rangers International), Megwo Sunday (Abia Warriors), and Samuel Ayanrinde (Shooting Stars).

They have been called up to beef up the CHAN Eagles who were unable to score in Accra and must get goals in the return leg  at the  Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo  on Saturday to qualify for the CHAN billed for Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda next year.

The CHAN Eagles will name a final 25-man squad for a final playoff against Ghana after two phases of training camps in Abuja.

The coaches used two weeks to look closer at as many as 70 players from the domestic championship.

Officials informed SCORENigeria that the final squad will go into close training camp in Abuja after the Super Eagles final 2025 AFCON qualifiers against Benin and Rwanda.

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Ghana will host the first leg of the 2025 CHAN playoffs between December 20 and 22, while the return leg will be played a week later in Nigeria.

It was Ghana’s home-based team who eliminated Nigeria from the previous CHAN.

SCORENigeria checks revealed some outstanding players from the training camp Pascal Eze, (Central defender, Enyimba), Papa Daniel (Attacking midfielder, Niger Tornadoes), Mubarak Aminu (Defensive midfielder, Kano Pillars) and Ossy Martins (Striker, Lobi Stars).