The Nation Newspaper

Tag: eagles

  • Eagles Storm The Gym for Zambia Saturday’s Clash

    Eagles Storm The Gym for Zambia Saturday’s Clash

    The Super Eagles are not ruling out the need to visit the gym for body building and keep fit reasons as they prepare for the Saturday’s 2018 World Cup Qualifier against the chipolopolo of Zambia at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo.

    After the Gym Exercise on Tuesday morning the the Coach Rohr boys will file out for their first workout schedule at the pitch later in the day

    At least not less than 14 foreign-based professionals will participate in the Super Eagles first workout.

    The foreign-based professionals in camp are Elderson Echiejile, Oghenekaro Etebo, Anthony Nwakaeme, John Ogu, Kelechi Iheanacho, Ahmed Musa, Wilfred Ndidi, John Obi Mikel, Mikel Agu, William Troost-Ekong, Leon Balogun, Odion Ighalo and Shehu Abdullahi.

    As for Zambia, three foreign-based pros are still being expected : Patson Daka (Red Bull Salzburg-Austria), Enock Mwepu (FC Liefering) and Edward Chilufya (Djurgardens-Sweden).

    According to  Football Association of Zambia , Mwepu and Chilufya will join camp from Accra while Daka will team up with his colleagues on Wednesday.

    Coach Wedson Nyirenda will run the rule over six foreign-based professionals Kennedy Mweene (Mamelodi Sundowns), Chisamba Lungu (Alanyaspor), Stoppilla Sunzu (Arsenal Tula), Roderick Kabwe (Ajax Cape Town), Justin Shonga (Orlando Pirates) and Fashion Sakala (Spartak Moscow) at the Marcel Desailly Sports Complex on Tuesday morning.

    Nigeria lead the way in Group B of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers with ten points from four matches followed by Zambia who have seven points.

    NFF Warns Fans Against Pitch Invasion

    Meanwhile, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has warned that it will no longer be business as usual for fans who take delight in encroaching into the field of play.

    An impeacable source of the glasshouse who spoke on the condition of anonymyty while encourage Nigerian to turn out in mass to encourage eagles to victory however caution fans not to do anything that will dent the nation’s image.

    Only few days ago, FIFA slammed a sum of $31,000 (11 million naira)on Nigeria for crowd disorder during last month’s World Cup qualifier against Cameroon in Uyo, which the Super Eagles won 4-0.

    Recall that the gates were thrown open after the Akwa Ibom State government paid for all the seats in their support for the Super Eagles.

    Other Countries FIFA Fined for Fans Disorder

    Nigeria is not only the country that suffered the FIFA’s hammer as countries like Germany, Czech  and  Argentina were also fined for fans disorder.

    German football federation was fined 32,000 Swiss francs ($33,000) because fans chanted Nazi slogans at a World Cup qualifying game in the Czech Republic.

    “The range of charges against Germany included fans encroaching on the field and setting off fireworks at the game in Prague,” FIFA said.

    About 200 German supporters chanted slogans during their team’s 2-1 win and verbally abused one of the scorers Timo Werner.

    FIFA also fined the Czech federation 5,000 Swiss francs ($5,150) for crowd disorder.

    FIFA’s attempts to crack down on fans chanting gay slurs saw seven national federations fined for incidents.

    Argentina was ordered to pay 65,000 Swiss francs ($67,000), Panama 50,000 Swiss francs ($51,500), and Hungary 20,000 Swiss francs ($20,600).

  • Home-based Eagles beat Junior Pillars 3-1‎ in friendly

    Home- based Super Eagles, on Friday in Kano whipped Junior Kano Pillars 3-1 in a friendly match.

    The match was played at the Sani Abacha Stadium before a handful of spectators.

    ‎Mathias Samuel put the home-based Eagles ahead before Kano Pillars Feeders leveled up.

    Ibrahim Alhassan restored the lead minutes later and he increased the tally to make the third goal for the Eagles.

    Shortly after the match, Salisu Yusuf, the Coach of Super Eagles, said his players’ performance was inspiring and‎ commendable.

    ‎
    He expressed confident that his players would perform well in the qualifiers and qualify for CHAN 2018 in Kenya.

    “The performance was commendable and we hope to make it to the finals in Kenya,” he said.‎
    ‎‎
    ‎He said that the players went on break to play for their various clubs in the Nigeria Professional Football League at the weekend.‎

    The home-based Eagles are camping ahead of the 2018 CHAN qualifiers.

    The first leg of the qualifier against Benin Republic in Cotonou comes up on Aug.  13, and the reverse fixture holds less than a week later in Nigeria.‎

    ‎The team is being handled by assistant coaches Salisu Yusuf and Imam Amakapabo. (NAN)‎

  • Eagles coach predicts tough match with Bafana Bafana

    Eagles coach predicts tough match with Bafana Bafana

    Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr, has said that Saturday’s AFCON qualifying match against  Bafana Bafana of South Africa will be a difficult game for the team.

    Rohr said this on Tuesday in Uyo while speaking with newsmen after the Super Eagles’ first training session at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium.

    The coach said that the South African team had not lost a match in the last two years and as such, it would be a big challenge to beat the team.

    “The game will be difficult. It will be a big challenge to beat the South Africans. It will be difficult with the young players that we have.

    “Our captain, Mikel Obi and our first choice goalkeeper are out of the match,” Rohr said.

    He, however, said that he was expecting four more players to report to camp Tuesday afternoon.

    The coach also said that the team had a big motivation and that the players were doing well in their training.

    Also speaking at the end of training session, the Eagles captain, Ogenyi Onazi, said that the team was working hard to win the match.

    “We expect to win the game. We know what happened here in Uyo during AFCON qualifiers for 2015 with the South African team.

    “It is not going to be a do or die affair, but we are here to make up for the past,” Onazi assured.

    He said that the team had a good blend of the young and the experienced players and the Super Eagles would want Nigerians to pray for the success of the team.

    In his comment, the Super Eagles’ media officer, Toyin Ibitoye, said that the team was balanced in all departments.

    Ibitoye said that the training sessions that started two weeks ago in Corsica and Paris were like a full match.

    “The team is focused. The team is at its best,” Ibitoye said.

    He called on Nigerians to pray for the success of the team in Saturday’s encounter with the South Africans.

    According to the chairman of Okobo Football Associtaion in Akwa Ibom, Bassey Nkpokongoyo, who watched the training session, described Super Eagles team as balanced.

    Nkpokongoyo said that Nigeria had a prepared team to face Bafana Bafana team in Uyo on Saturday.

    He praised Coach Gernot Rohr for bringing young talented players into the team and expressed the hope that Nigeria would beat South Africa.

    “What happened in 2014 with South Africa in Uyo will not repeat itself,” Nkpokongoyo said.

  • 2018 World Cup Qualifiers: Algeria’ll beat Eagles to sole slot, says Alcaraz

    2018 World Cup Qualifiers: Algeria’ll beat Eagles to sole slot, says Alcaraz

    Few days after taking charge as the new coach of Algeria, Spaniard Lucas Alcaraz believes the North African still has the chance to beat group leader – Nigeria, African champion, Cameroun and Zambia to the sole slot to the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

    Lucas Alcaraz is optimistic that their next two games against Zambia remains crucial to their eventual qualification for the World Cup.

    With only one point from three matches played so far, the coach of Les Fennecs told FIFA.COM  that despite the Herculean task of qualifying, he said: “Obviously, we’re not the favourites, but we have to do everything in our power to get as many points and wins as we can. We have to fight hard in every game to make sure there are no regrets at the end of it all.”

    The former Granada boss believes Algeria can still qualify, provided they beat Zambia in their next assignments: “We’re going to prepare in depth for the two matches against Zambia.The players and the staff know what they have to do, what’s expected of them and the importance of these two matches. I need a lot of players for those two games and I’m absolutely convinced that if we beat Zambia, then we’ll qualify.”

    He, however, refuses to lose hope on Algeria’s chances, “If we can get through to the last match with morale high and full of hope after a couple of wins, I think we’ll be able to go into it with confidence high.”

    With the last group match at home to Nigeria’s Super Eagles, the Spaniard said: “If we can win our next home games, we’ll be in a good position to welcome Nigeria on the final day.”

  • ‘We can shock Eagles in Uyo’

    ‘We can shock Eagles in Uyo’

    The South Africa Football Association (SAFA) will in the coming days unveil Stuart Baxter as their new coach ahead of their AFCON 2019 Qualifiers against Nigeria in Uyo.

    Baxter holds the record of the only coach who have guided South Africa to victory over Nigeria, and he will be eyeing same when his team travel to Uyo on the 10th of June.

    On 17 November 2004, Baxter’s Bafana Bafana beat the Super Eagles 2-1 with goals by Shaun Bartlett and Benedict Vilakazi in a friendly international.

    “We (South Africa) shouldn’t feel inferior to Nigeria. It’s no help looking at their players and seeing which clubs they play for. That is only on paper.

    “Before our game in 2004, they were all talking about beating South Africa 4-0 ahead of our game, but we forgot about that and just played our game.”

  • Rohr drops China based Eagles again

    Rohr drops China based Eagles again

    The coach of the Super Eagles of Nigeria Gernot Rohr has once again left out the three active members of his team who are plying their trade in China, in the list of players who are to camp in France.

    Rohr first omitted the trio last month when the Eagles converged in London for two friendly games against Senegal and Burkina Faso, but the team could only play one game as the full compliment of the squad of Burkina Faso were not given entry visa into the United Kingdom.

    The reason for omitting the trio back then, was to allow them settle in their new environment, and this time around the coach left out the trio of Odion Ighalo, Brown Ideye and captain John Obi Mikel as they will be having club commitments when the team open their camp in France.

    Although Ideye and Ighalo are yet to really get going for their respective teams with the latter having one goal to his name, while the former has two, Mikel had found the back of the net and was largely man of the match for his team in their first three games before picking up a thigh muscle injury.

    Their absence has opened the door for the manager to hand first time call up to KAS Eupen hot in demand forward Henry Onyekuru who has 18 goals for the Belgium side in his first season in the top flight.

    However, the bulk of the team, which the manager has used in previous games and camping exercise will be called up as well to make up the numbers for the team, who are going to take on Burkina Faso during their camping exercise in France.

    The essence of going to France for the camping is to allow the players prepare adequately for the June 10 AFCON 2019 Qualifiers against South Africa in Uyo.

  • Yusuf: Scrap NPFL if no player is good for Eagles

    The Nigeria Football federation (NFF)Assistant Director ( Technical), Abdulrafiu Yusuf has described the non inclusion of the home based players in the international friendly match in London as an unacceptable decision on the part of the handlers of the senior national team.

    Yusuf, who made this known to  Sportinglife at the weekend during the closing ceremony of CAF-B Coaching Licence Course in Abuja , said the non invitation of at least 3 or 4 players in the Nigerian league by Gernot Rohr and his assistants  means our league is not good.

    “I’m a firm  believer of our league because I am a product of the League. You can’t  tell me that no player locally is good for the Super Eagles even for friendly matches. How do we develop the game?

    “The essence of the league is to develop and identify players for the national teams. But if they are not good for the senior team why are we playing the league.  Why are we praising the league managed by the LMC. The best thing is to scrap the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL)”, Yusuf said.

    He concluded by saying  that the Super Eagles handlers  should look inwards in future invitation  to the senior national team as some of them playing locally are better than the so -called foriegn based which majority of them are not first team players in their clubs.

  • Why Nigerian teams struggle in the continent -Chukwu

    Why Nigerian teams struggle in the continent -Chukwu

     

     

    Former Eagles Coach and Captain, Christian Chukwu has blamed premature players exodus for poor run of Nigerian teams in the

    CAf Champions league and CAF Confederation cup respectively.  Chukwu who is General Manager of Rangers international, bared his mind while assessing the performance of the Flying Antelopes and Rivers United in the CAF Champions League and FC IfeanyiUbah and Wikki Tourist in the CAF Confederation cup this year. Players who score goals and show signs of perfect finishing according to him hardly stay in the league once they have been discovered, noting that such inconsistency makes it difficult for teams to parade their complete squad when it matters most.

    “One of the problems we have is that once a player starts playing well, finishes well and begins to score some good goals before you know it he has gone abroad, so there is no stability, “he said

    The former Harambee stars of Kenya coach however insisted that Rangers put up a good fight despite crashing out of the CAF Champions league and being relegated to the CAF Confederation Cup.

    “Our players put in their best and were partly unlucky,” he submitted adding we however assure our supporters that we will do well in the CAF Confederation Cup.

    Enyimba posted what has been dubbed the best performance in the continent by a Nigerian club when they won the CAF Champions league back to back in 2003 and 2004. While some believe that Nigerian clubs need to be better funded to buy quality players others say the display is a reflection of standard of the Nigeria league.

    Rangers face play-off against Zesco United while Rivers United tackle Rayon Sports of Rwanda.

  • Eagles anxious to beat Senegal, Burkina Faso- Yusuf

    Eagles anxious to beat Senegal, Burkina Faso- Yusuf

    •To send warning signals to Cameroun
    •Wants to discover new players

    The Super Eagles players are anxious not only to take on the Teranga Lions of Senegal and Burkina Faso but to beat the teams to send warning signals to the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon, Nigeria’s next opponent in the 2018 World Cup African qualifiers.

    The Chief Coach of the Eagles Salisu Yusuf disclosed this yeterday before jetting out to England venue of the friendly matches between the three teams.

    “The essence of organizing this friendly matches is to prepare very well and prepare our minds to face Cameroon in the double header slated for August”, Yusuf told SportingLife. 

    “We (Eagles) are determined to beat Senegal and Burkina Faso if only to send jitters to the spines of Cameroun our World Cup foes. But even if we don’t win in as much as we can discover one or two new players we must have achieved something.

    “The reasons for playing these friendly is to discover new players, try to blend the team properly and to achieve needed understanding and cohesion in the team,” Yusuf said.

  • Nwakali eager to play for Eagles

    Nwakali eager to play for Eagles

    On loan Manchester City Nigerian midfielder Chidiebere Nwakali has spoken out his eagerness to play for the national team of Nigeria.

    “As much as I enjoy playing for my club, I want to put same, even much more in playing for my country. God bless Naija,” he posted on twitter.

    Nwakali has played for the U-17 and 20 teams of Nigeria, and was a part of the U-17 team that won the 2013 World Youth Championship in the UAE, with the likes of Kelechi Iheanacho, Isacc Success and Taiwo Awoniyi among others.

    He moved to Manchester City together with Iheanacho, but while Iheanacho has gone ahead to be a main stay in the midfield, Nwakali has had to endure spells away from the club on loan.