The Nation Newspaper

Tag: draw

  • Eagles draw in Namibia to top F

    Eagles draw in Namibia to top F

    The Super Eagles of Nigeria yesterday maintained their leadership of group F of the World Cup qualifiers after pulling a 1-1 draw against the Brave Warriors of Namibia in Windhoek.

    The Southern Africans gave the Eagles a stern test with the coach Ricardo Mannetti-tutored side making several dangerous incursions into the vital area of the African Champions, before opening scores through an effort from Tangeni Shipahu down the middle in the second half.

    Confident of an upset, the Warriors continued their onslaught, but Nigeria soon responded through Godfrey Oboabona, who took a thunderous free-kick that beat the Namibian goalkeeper a few minutes later. The match ended one goal apiece.

    Earlier, the Flames of Malawi had conceded a late equaliser at home to Kenya in the other Group F encounter and now sit second in the group with seven points after their 2-2 draw – two points behind Nigeria.

    With this development, the Eagles remain on top of the group with nine points, Namibia have five points, while Kenya are at the bottom of the table with just three points.

    Nigeria will now seek to win their last group match against Malawi in Calabar to guarantee the sole ticket from the group, while Kenya will host Namibia.

    A win for the Eagles at home against the Flames will result in 11 points for the African Champions. However, a loss for the Eagles and a victory for the Flames in the corresponding fixture will see the Malawians going through on ten points as against Nigeria’s 9.

    A draw will see Nigeria clinch the coveted ticket.

  • Afcon 2015 qualifiers: Nigeria may draw Cameroon, Egypt

    Afcon 2015 qualifiers: Nigeria may draw Cameroon, Egypt

    Qualification for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations holding in Morroco may turn out a herculean task for Nigeria with the Super Eagles likely to be drawn against former champions Cameroon or Egypt.

    The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has revealed the seeding for the draw for the qualifiers which expectedly sees champions Nigeria in pot 1 while the likes of Egypt and Cameroon who hitherto used to be amongst the continent’s super powers in pot 2.

    The draw ceremony will take place on March 10 in Morocco during CAF General Assembly, with the qualification procedure reverting to its normal format as opposed to the modified mode for the just-concluded edition.

    Forty-four teams are on the starting line and seeded in four pots of 11 teams each according to their current ranking.

    The Preliminary Round is scheduled to start in June. As host country, Morocco qualified automatically.

     

    Seedings

    Pot one: Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Togo, Mali, South Africa, Cape Verde, DR Congo, Zambia, Tunisia, Ghana.

    Pot two: Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Senegal, Cameroon, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Gabon, Uganda, Congo, Central African Republic.

    Pot three: Ethiopia, Benin, Angola, Niger, Zimbabwe, Equatorial, Mozambique, Malawi, Burundi, Liberia, Sudan.

    Pot four: To be determined after the preliminary round.

     

  • F/Eagles get favourable AYC draw

    F/Eagles get favourable AYC draw

    …  Eaglets to meet Ghana in U-17 

    The Flying Eagles of Nigeria on Sunday got a favourable draw for the 2013 African Youth Championship slated for Algeria, MTNFootball.com reports.

    Flying Eagles, the defending champions, will play in group B alongside Mali, debutants Gabon and DR Congo.

    Group A comprises the hosts Algeria, Ghana, Egypt and Benin Republic.

    The U-20 tournament will be played between March 16 and 30 2013 with the semi-finalists qualifying to represent Africa at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Turkey in June.

    For the U-17 African championship, which will be hosted by Morocco in April, three-time world champions Golden Eaglets of Nigeria will meet arch rivals Black Starlets of Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire and Congo.

    The other group has hosts Morocco, debutants Botswana, Gabon and Tunisia.

    Like the AYC, the semi-finalists of this competition will also fly Africa’s flag at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in United Arab Emirates.

     

  • 2013 African Cup of Nations: Eagles draw Chipolopolo

    2013 African Cup of Nations: Eagles draw Chipolopolo

    Nigeria’s Super Eagles have been paired alongside African Cup of Nations (AFCON) defending champions, Zambia’s Chipolopolo, Ethiopia’s Walya Antelopes and Burkina Faso’s Stallions in Group C in Wednesday’s 2013 draw at the International Convention Centre in Durban, South Africa.

    The ceremony which is a fair draw for the Stephen Keshi side also saw the 16 qualified teams drawn into four groups of four teams.

    Group A sees hosts South Africa go up against Angola, Morocco and Cape Verde, a potentially tough run for Bafana Bafana

    Ghana’s Black Stars are the top seeds in Group B, and have been drawn alongside Mali, Niger and DR Congo.

    While Cote d’Ivoire’s Elephants are in Group D with Tunisia, Algeria and Togo, a possible Group of Death.

    Interestingly, the Eagles will open their quest for silverware against Burkina Faso on Monday, January 21, 2013 at the Mbombela Stadium by 20:00 (local time) after Zambia tackle Ethiopia in Group C opener at 17:00.