The Nation Newspaper

Tag: QUALIFIER

  • Africa Under-17 qualifier: Ikhana offers Eaglets winning tips

    Africa Under-17 qualifier: Ikhana offers Eaglets winning tips

    Foremost football coach, Kadiri Ikhana, has commended the Golden Eaglets coaching crew in the task of building a strong team and has given tacit support to the team’s quest for a ticket for the 2015 African Under-17 Championship in Niger.

    The Golden Eaglets take a 1-0 lead into this weekend’s decider against Les Leopards of Congo Democratic Republic in Abeokuta and Ikhana is backing them to go all the way. The 62-year-old -coach who broke the jinx by winning Nigeria’s CAF Champions League trophy with Enyimba in 2003, said he was impressed  with the choice of players selected by Coach  Emmanuel Amuneke-led crew since it would on the long run help the growth of the national in the future.

    “I want to really commend you (coaching crew) for the kind of players you have picked because they are very young,” said Ikhana, a 1980 African Cup of Nations winner with the Green Eagles.

    “It is important we get things right from this stage because this is the foundation for other national teams and be assured of my support because I’ve seen that you are doing the right thing.”

    The vastly experienced manager was able to see the national Under-17 team at close quarters since his team, Enyimba, who were in Abeokuta for their Federation Cup match against Giwa FC, lodged in the same hotel with the Golden Eaglets. He advised officials to continue to instill discipline on the players both on and off the field.

    “I’m really impressed with the conduct of your team,” he further remarked after watching their training session on Wednesday at the MKO Abiola Stadium. “The coaches are imparting real knowledge into the players and I strongly believe, they have what it takes to play against any team.”

    The former Super Falcons’ coach said he has passed useful information to the coaching crew as they gear up preparations towards their second round-second leg fixture against their counterparts from the Central African region.

  • 2nd leg African Under-17 qualifier: NFF sends Eaglets to Abeokuta

    2nd leg African Under-17 qualifier: NFF sends Eaglets to Abeokuta

    The Nigeria Football Federation(NFF) picked Abeokuta for the second leg of the African U-17 qualifier against Congo, due to the on-going renovation work at the U. J Esuene Stadium in Calabar.

    The team was whisked to the rock city in a seamless transition from Lagos upon their arrival from Kinshasa on Monday.

    After two sessions at the Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola Stadium, the Golden Eaglets have settled down in Abeokuta ahead of their Under-17 African Championship qualifier against Congo DR on Saturday.

    The Eaglets, who are staying at the Intercontinental Suites, had a brief session on Monday evening to shake off jet lag after about a 12-hour flight from Kinshasa via Nairobi to Lagos and resumed their routine training on Tuesday.

  • NIGER 2015 QUALIFIER: Eaglets in Congo to win, says Amuneke

    NIGER 2015 QUALIFIER: Eaglets in Congo to win, says Amuneke

    Nigeria’s Under-17 national team, the Golden Eaglets, will be going for nothing but victory when they face the Junior Leopards of Congo Democratic Republic in an African U-17 Championship (Niger 2015) qualifier on Saturday in Kinshasa.

    This much was said by the team’s Head Coach, Emmanuel Amuneke (MON) after the Eaglets’ final training  session yesterday, ahead  of the match fixed for 3:30pm local time (3:30pm Nigerian time) at  the Tata Raphael Stadium today.

    ” We are here to win and it is as simple as that but we know  that the game will not be as simple as that,”  said Amuneke who scored match-winning goals when Nigeria won the 1994 African Cup of Nations and  Atlanta’96 Olympic Soccer Gold medal. “We have constantly told the boys that all what we had done in the past are now in the past and the moment of serious business is here for us.”

    Keen followers of the Eaglets can readily predict the team’s line up after remarkably going 21 matches undefeated in regulation time (bar the penalty shoot-out loss to Benin at the WAFU B Tournament in Togo) fuelling suspicion that the 1994 African Footballer of the Year might stick to his reliables against Congo DR.

    “The only difference between Saturday’s (today’s) match and the ones we played in the past is just the circumstance because this is one of the qualifiers for Niger,” he explained. “So it is important for us to win irrespective of what Congo will throw at us because we know Kinshasa is a difficult place to win matches.”

    Typically, Amuneke refrained from picking any particular player as the  joker for the match saying that all the 18 players on the trip are physically and psychologically ready for what is regarded within the rank of the team as ‘The Battle of Kinshasa.’

    “Joker? I don’t have any joker for the match,” he bluntly said. “What we have is a team with a winning mentality and we have brought players we believe will do the job for us.”

  • UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUALIFIER: Ambrose gets Legia Warsaw challenge

    UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUALIFIER: Ambrose gets Legia Warsaw challenge

    Super Eagles defender Efe Ambrose will be the guest of Legia Warsaw in the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round with the first leg billed for July 29 and 30, while the second leg will take the centre stage on August 5th and 6th respectively.  The clash is, however, subject to Celtic sealing up a second round tie against Icelandic side KR Reykjavik

    Ambrose, who made Stephen Keshi’s squad to the just ended World Cup in Brazil, was in action for Celtic in the first leg of the second round played Tuesday with the Scottish side running away with a lone goal away victory.

    The second leg is on Tuesday, 24 hours before League of Ireland Premier Division champions, St Patrick’s, host Polish side Legia in the return leg of their tie, the opening encounter of which finished in a 1-1 draw.

    Tuesday’s victory, in which Ambrose gave a good account of himself, is new Celtic coach Ronny Deila’s first game in charge, a result which many fans of the club have described as a good omen.

    The new coach has noted with delight Ambrose’s contribution to Celtic’s exploits before his arrival and is hoping to enjoy the same cooperation during his reign.

  • 1994 WORLD CUP QUALIFIER: Why I cried in Algeria — Keshi

    1994 WORLD CUP QUALIFIER: Why I cried in Algeria — Keshi

    Stephen Keshi has given reasons why he cried after the Super Eagles qualified Nigeria for her debut senior World Cup in the United States of America (USA) in 1994.

    The Big Boss after guiding the AFCON 2013 kings to qualification for Brazil 2014, their fifth Mundial, stated in Calabar that: “The emotions then as captain of the national male team that qualified Nigeria to her debut World Cup were very high when compared to last Sunday’s, as a coach that did same 20 years after. We were made to pick the ticket away from home.

    “So we had history to make for ourselves unlike the Algerians, who had noting to play for. That last game, I recall, was played under closed doors and we needed a draw. We were a young side, so the pressure was on us. But at the end we got a draw.

    “I guess after the match all of you know what happened as the emotions were too much for me hide. But as one who qualified Nigeria to Brazil, there isn’t much emotions as the job had been done 70%, when we defeated the Ethiopians in the first leg in Addis Ababa. So the second leg was just for us to seal it and that’s what we have done today (Saturday).”

  • WORLD CUP QUALIFIER: Flames’ plot against Eagles suffer set back

    WORLD CUP QUALIFIER: Flames’ plot against Eagles suffer set back

    The desire of Flames of Malawi to shock Super Eagles in Calabar in the World Cup qualifiers billed for September 7 in Calabar, suffered a huge setback Saturday after the side now boosted by Belgian Tom Saintfeit failed in their bid to hit the Cosafa Cup semis Saturday.

    Flames in a bid to ensure victory in Calabar, decided to engage the Belgian whose desire to oversee Eagles as Nigeria’s Technical Adviser hit the rocks with a bang when Sports minister Boalaji Abdulahi cancelled the offer.

    Saintfeit watched as title holders Zimbabwe defeated his side on penalties in Zambia after a 1-1 draw to reach the Cosafa Cup semi-finals.

    Devon Chafa, Eric Chipeta and Ocean Mushure scored to give Zimbawe a 3-1 shootout victory, as only Chiukepo Msowoya netted for Malawi.

    Record four-time champions Zimbabwe now face the winners of the quarterfinal in Kitwe today between Angola and Lesotho.

    Zimbabwe dominated the opening half at sunny Nkoloma Sadium, in capital city of Lusaka and nudged ahead after 14 minutes.

    Malawi goalkeper Simplex Nthala parried a Tendai Ndoro header off a free kick to Masimba Mambare, who fired the ball into the net.

    Malawi were reduced to 10 men just before half time after veteran defender James Sangala was shown a second yellow card on 44 minutes, followed by a red to leave his side with an uphill task.

    Saintfeit flanked by his assistant Patrick Mabedi in post match interview, said “I am proud of how the boys played in the second half but I am disappointed that we missed three penalties”

    An equally disappointed skipper of the side, Jose Kawende, however urged Malawiams to “keep faith in the squad”

    Nigeria leads Group F with nine points with Malawi following behind with seven points, while Namibia and kenya occupy the rear with five and three points respectively.