The Nation Newspaper

Tag: eagles

  • 2017 Nations Cup qualifiers Eagles know foes today

    2017 Nations Cup qualifiers Eagles know foes today

    The Super Eagles would know their group opponents when the draws for the 2017 Nations Cup qualifiers is conducted by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in Cairo,Egypt today.

    The Nigeria senior national team, which failed to qualify for the last edition of AFCON held in Equatorial Guinea earlier this year, will be hoping to make amends by getting one of the 15 tickets available to countries in Africa that will participate in the qualifiers.

    After failing to qualify for the last edition of the tournament, the four friendly matches that the Super Eagles have played have not evoked any hope that the team can rule Africa again like they did in 2013 when they won the Nations Cup in South Africa.

    Late last year, an entirely home based team lost gallantly to AFCON defending champions 1-0 in Abu Dhabi before beating Yemen 2-0 in Dubai.

    On March 25 this year, the Super Eagles went down 1-0 at home in Uyo against the Cranes of Uganda and four days later were held to a 1-1 draw by the Bafana Bafana of South Africa at the Mbombela stadium in Nelspruit.

    As the Eagles look towards another round of AFCON qualifiers, it is hoped that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) will sort out the coaching crisis that has bedevilled the team since late last year to enable the team have a sense of direction.

    The draw will follow immediately after the announcement of the host nation for the next Nations Cup,which appears to be a straight battle between Algeria and Ghana.

    The qualifiers for the 31st edition of the AFCON will begin mid-year in the FIFA international window from June 8 to16.

    For the first time the host country will participate in the qualifying stages for the AFCON. However, the matches concerned will not count for any points in their group, and will instead be classified as friendlies.

    The 52 teams will be divided into 13 groups of four teams each and the top team in each group will qualify for the tournament finals, as well as the best two runners-up – excluding the group involving the host country, from which only one team will qualify.

  • Eagles happy with draw

    Eagles happy with draw

     

    Super Eagles players   who featured in Sunday’s  international friendly against South Africa have expressed satisfaction with the scoreline even though they would have preferred a win.

    SportingLife gathered from an authoritative source  that travelled with the team to South Africa on Monday evening that the players were happy to avoid a second defeat.

    “Virtually all of them that l spoke with are happy that they were able to get a draw and not a loss like it happened against Uganda,” the source said. The former African champions were shocked by Uganda 1-0 at the Uyo Stadium last Wednesday in a friendly.

    Our source however admitted that the players were looking forward to victory to placate fans back home but a draw in their view is a decent scoreline.

    The position of the players has countered that of assistant coach, Daniel Amokachi who was not happy that the team conceded a late minute goal.

    Nigeria were forced to a 1-1 draw by South Africa in an international friendly match played at the Mbombela Stadium.

    CSKA OF Moscow forward, Ahmed Musa put Nigeria in the lead before Bongani Zungu salvaged a draw for the host team at the last minute.

  • Ogbeide praises Eagles rebuilding process

    Ogbeide praises Eagles rebuilding process

    Bayelsa United head coach, Solomon Ogbeide has tasked the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and other football stakeholders to give the Super Eagles more time to mature and not run them down with criticisms.

    The Eagles were far from impressive against the Cranes of Uganda at the Akwa Ibom International Stadium, Uyo and it was no wonder they lost 0-1 to the visitors but they upped their game against South Africa’s Bafana Bafana in Nelspruit and they deservedly got a 1-1 draw on Sunday.

    It is at the backdrop of this that Ogbeide who is the Secretary General of the Nigeria Football Coaches Association urged football stakeholders including the NFF to thread the path of caution and watch what they say regarding the results got by the senior national team.

    He said whatever that is said could either demoralise or uplift the spirits of the players adding that building a team always takes time.

  • Khune may return against Eagles

    Khune may return against Eagles

    Bafana Bafana  welcomed back injured goal keeper and Captain, Itumeleng Khune for the first time since January last year when he played against Mali in the CAF Championship of African Nations (CHAN) tournament played in Cape Town and he says the team is charged towards the Nigeria friendly.

    The 27-year-old has been recovering from an injury and started the Swaziland friendly before he was replaced in the second half.

    Shakes Mashaba might decide to start the Kaizer Chiefs first choice against the Super Eagles.

    Khune spoke after the 3-1 win over Swaziland and believed it was a good preparation for the Nigeria fixture.

    “It was great for me to come back and play the first half, it really feels good to be back. In that stanza, Swaziland came very hard at us but we managed to contain them and we were disciplined.

    ”So, it was a great performance overall. It was a great preparation for the Nigeria clash. It is always great before you play another big match, you get such a result as it builds confidence,” said Khune.

  • ‘Bafana will end Eagles jinx’

    ‘Bafana will end Eagles jinx’

    As another day of reckoning between Nigeria and South Africa draws near in an international friendly, South Africa Football Association (SAFA) Media Officer, Matlhomola Morake, says its about time for the Bafana Bafana to finally break the jinx with a win against The Super Eagles on Sunday in Mbombela.

    In an exclusive interview with www.footballlive.ng, Morake recounted the recent meetings of the sides where he claims the Eagles barely escaped with their feathers.

    ”In Cape Town we played a goalless draw, we did very well in that match, a game we thought we could have won but we fluffed several chances even though Nigeria were solid defensively.

    ”Then there was another close shave for the Eagles in Uyo. We led 2-0 until the latter stages of that game and the whole team rued the missed chances, so we’re looking forward to correcting all of that when we meet on Sunday in Mbombela.”

    Nigeria will face South Africa in the second and concluding fixture of the March friendlies, but have started poorly with a shocking 1-0 loss at home to Uganda.

    Daniel Amokachi’s team got some stick from fans after their lackluster showing at the Nest of Champions in Uyo.

    On the other hand Shakes Mashaba and his Bafana Bafana team raced past neighbours Swaziland 3-1 and are fired up as they look to build after a poor showing at the AFCON in Equatorial Guinea.

    However, Morake expects a tough encounter regardless of the Eagles’ current fortunes.  Hear him:  “We expect a difficult game as Nigerian teams always seem to be tough to play and it’s going to be very hard to ask the players, but we believe it is time to get our win this time around.”

  • Akpan: Eagles will improve against South Africa

    Akpan: Eagles will improve against South Africa

    Reading midfielder  Hope Akpan has vowed that the Super Eagles will up their performance on Sunday when they face South Africa, following the loss to Uganda two days ago.

    The Anglo – Nigerian has lavished praise on Vincent Enyeama, saying the Lille goalkeeper is one of his role models.

    “Not the result we wanted yesterday (Wednesday), but there were positives from the performance of players still gelling together. We will improve for SA.

    “Congratulations to our captain Vincent Enyeama on 100 caps for the Super Eagles. The guy is simply an inspiration, ” said Hope Akpan on Twitter.

    23 – year – old Akpan has sported the Super Eagles jersey on three occasions since he debuted.

  • Cranes won’t trouble Eagles, says Hamilton

    Cranes won’t trouble Eagles, says Hamilton

    Former Nigerian manager, Paul Hamilton has said the Cranes of  Uganda do not look like a side that will trouble the Super Eagles.

    The Eagles will confront the East Africans in a friendly clash today at the Akwa Ibom International Stadium, Uyo.

    Hamilton said though Ugandans are expected to offer stiff challenge to the Nigerians but will not create any upset for their auspicious hosts.

    “Ugandan sides have never troubled any Nigerian side in the past and I don’t see the present crop of players posing any difficulty for the Super Eagles. Although I expect a quality challenge and a good match as well, they won’t stop Eagles from winning the friendly match.

    “The Ugandans are an unknown quantity in the continent but they’ll be helpful for the rebuilding process of the Super Eagles. The Ugandans will be too excited playing at the Akwa Ibom International Stadium than actually challenging us.

    “I think the difficult game will be the encounter against the Bafana Bafana of South Africa. Of late, South Africa have become a huge mountain to climb as well as a disturbing phenomenon. We need to put on our whole armoury to ensure we win the encounter even though it’s a friendly match.

    “The Eagles should use the clash against Uganda to express themselves as well as gain confidence to confront the South Africans,” said the former Nigerian star to supersport.com.

    The Super Eagles will be the guests of Bafana Bafana of South Africa on Sunday in an international friendly clash at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit.

  • AYC SEMI FINAL: Flying Eagles to play Ghana

    AYC SEMI FINAL: Flying Eagles to play Ghana

    The age-long rivalry between Nigeria and Ghana will be rekindled on Wednesday when the two countries’ Under-20 squads, the Flying Eagles and the Black Satellites clash in the semi finals of the ongoing CAF U-20 Championsip in Dakar, Senegal.

    The Nigerian lads handled by coach Manu Garba booked their place in the last four of the tournament after their second group win against Congo and ended up on top of Group A despite holding the Junior Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire to a 2-2 draw in thier last group match on Saturday.

    Ghana qualified to face the Flying Eagles in the semi finals by virtue of emerging as runners up in Group B after losing their last group game against Mali by a lone goal.

    Before yesterday’s final round of matches in Group B, Ghana were on top of the log with six points but an 18th minute goal by Mali’s Ichaka Diarra relegated the Satelittes to the second position.

    Coach Garba already knows what to expect from the Ghanains having played the same team in a two-legged friendly before the commencement of this tournament.

    Last month the Flying Eagles played two test matches in Ghana – winning 2-0 in Tema and being forced to a 2-2 draw in Accra by the Black Satellites.

  • I didn’t hire faulty aircraft for Eagles – Adelakun

    I didn’t hire faulty aircraft for Eagles – Adelakun

    Tunde Adelakun may mean so many things to some Nigerians, especially those that have followed the five years’ corruption charges levelled against former chieftains of the NFF led by Sani Lulu Abdullahi.

    Adelakun was said to have chartered the aircraft that was to lift the Super Eagles from their training camp in London to South Africa for the 2010 World Cup. The aircraft developed a fault before take off at London’s Heathrow Airport.

    SportingLife caught up with the Oyo State-born Chartered Surveyor in London recently and he took time to explain the incident that led to the cancelation of the flight, accusing the powers that be of overblowing the issue.

    “My name is Tunde Adelakun, I hail from Ibadan in Oyo State. I stand for the development and progress of football in Africa. I started for African football in 1996, and this is contrary to what many Nigerians have been made to believe. I have no journalistic experience. I have not worked in any newspaper house in Nigeria. I only send some personal opinion stories to newspapers in the country, which, out of every ten, one is published.

    “I am a Chartered Surveyor. It was after the exploits of Nigeria in Atlanta that I approached the BBC for internship to enable me practice a little journalism, while I do my regular job as evaluation officer at the inland revenue office. They were so excited because Nigeria just won the Olympic gold medal in football, and it got bigger than I expected. That was my interaction with sports.

    “My passion to give back to sports that made me what I am. That is what I stand for, and that is what I have been doing over the years. I do my work with CAF, where I am in charge of African Football Museum and African Football Hall of Fame via a letter signed by CAF Secretary-General Hicham El Amrani dated May 29th, 2012. I also do some jobs for FIFA and the English FA”.

    Continuing, the official biographer of CAF President, Issa Hayatou, said: “I can say little about the aircraft issue because it is still a subject of litigation in court in Nigeria. But what I can say is that everything about hiring of the aircraft was done totally above board. The documents are with the British Home Office, British High Commission in Nigeria and every legal person that has something to do with that case.

    “There was nothing wrong with the aircraft issue, rather what I would call decision-making by the powers that be. As you know, everything is machine-operated, and things can go wrong at any point in time. That is exactly what happened in this case. The aircraft developed a fault, they put it in order, and were ready to go, but the people refused to go. So, if they refused to go and the pilot gave them the assurance that the aircraft is in order, what is my own fault there? I have to thank SportingLife for giving me the opportunity for the first time to talk on it. Even the investigative body that was constituted wanted facts, and I told them the facts were ready. They said they wanted to come to London to meet me, so I could take them to the airline company. I accepted, and even facilitated their visa to Britain but at the end of the day, they did not come. I have all the facts, and nobody is asking for them,” he said.

  • Supersand Eagles qualify as Libya withdraws

    Nigeria has qualified for the  2015 African Beach Soccer  Championship finals after Libya announced its withdrawal from the qualifying competition.

    Libya’s withdrawal has been communicated to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), meaning the 2007 and 2009 champions go through to the finals scheduled for April 14-19 in Seychelles .

    The Supersand Eagles returned to the country on Monday following a third place finish at the Power Horse Invitational Tournament in Durban, South Africa, and were set to continue training in Lagos ahead of the first leg of the qualifying fixture against Libya which was to be played this weekend.

    Coach Audu Adamu Ejo said: “We would have loved to use the fixture against Libya as part of our preparation for the African Beach Soccer Championship. However, there is nothing we can do other than to now start our final camping for the championship.”