The Nation Newspaper

Tag: WCQ

  • WCQ: Mikel to play in Namibia’s ‘artificial pitch’

    Chelsea star Mikel Obi will defy doctor’s orders and play for Nigeria on artificial pitch against hosts Namibia In Wednesday’s World Cup qualifier.

    Mikel has suffered a recurring back injury and only recently nursed a hip injury with Chelsea doctors maintaining he should avoid playing on the hard surface of an artificial pitch.

    He shone in Monday’s training, along with goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama and Kenneth Omeruo, who is soon to join up at Stamford Bridge.

    Incidentally, Galatasaray-target Mikel has often been knocked for not showing enough commitment to the national team.

    Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi, told MTNFootball.com that he does not expect any of his players to struggle with playing on the astro turf at the Sam Nujoma Stadium in Windhoek, venue of the match.

    “I don’t expect us to have any problems with the pitch. We have trained on astro turf and just decided to use grass today (Monday). Tomorrow (Tuesday) we will train at the match ground again,” he said.

    The Eagles on Monday had an hour’s training session in the cold in Windhoek with temperature going to as low as six degrees.

    Keshi also declared that the boys are battle ready for the Brave Warriors.

     

  • WCQ: Nigeria pips Kenya in Nairobi

    WCQ: Nigeria pips Kenya in Nairobi

    Super Eagles of Nigeria on Wednesday afternoon in Nairobi defeated the Harambee Stars of Kenya 1-0 in the 2014 World Cup qualifier played at the Kasarani Stadium.

    CSKA Moscow forward Ahmed Musa’s 81st minutes strike separated the two sides.

    Nigeria’s other group rivals Malawi and Namibia had earlier played a scoreless draw in Blantyre, the Malawian capital.

    With this victory, Nigeria still tops the group with eight points, while Malawi follows with six points. Namibia is on  four points and the Kenyans have two points.

    Super Eagles will meet the Namibians in Windhoek next Wednesday, while Malawi and Kenya will slug it out in Blantyre the same day.

     

  • We will get the desired result in Kenya – Mba

    We will get the desired result in Kenya – Mba

    The Super Eagles midfielder, Sunday Mba, believes the players on ground will get the much needed victory against the Harambee Stars on Wednesday, Goal.com reports.

    Mba is one of the players that Coach Stephen Keshi will be relying upon to get a win against the Harambee Stars on Wednesday at the Moi Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi.

    The undoubted hero from the last Africa Cup of Nations believes that though the team is shorn of some of its star players, the current squad will get the result needed against Kenya.

    “Yes, we will be without some of our top stars for the qualifiers as well as the Confederations Cup,” Goal.com quoted Mba as saying to FIFA.com.

    “We would have loved to have them with us, but we hope that we still get the results we need even without them.

    “We have set a standard and Nigerians do not expect anything less,” he concluded.

     

  • Eagles must be ruthless against Kenya – Ideye

    Eagles must be ruthless against Kenya – Ideye

    Dynamo Kiev striker, Brown Ideye, has said Super Eagles players must convert their chances against Kenya in Wednesday’s crunch World Cup qualifier.

    “Whether it is tough or easy, we will go for all the three points, we just need to be more ruthless and be confident and we will get the result we need,” declared Ideye, who netted from the penalty spot in a 2-2 with Mexico at the weekend.

    “We did our best and played well against Mexico, but like we all know, the fans expected us to win. We now hope to improve on this against Kenya and Namibia.

    “Personally, I expect a big challenge from Kenya and Namibia. It is going to be difficult, but we must conquer them to get closer to our World Cup dream,” the former Ocean Boys striker told MTNFootball.com.

    African champions Nigeria lead Group F on five points from three matches. Malawi is also on five points, but boasts an inferior goals’ difference, while Namibia are third on three points.

    The Kenyans are bottom of the group with two points.

    The East Africans host the Eagles on Wednesday and a week later Nigeria will be guests to Namibia.

     

  • WCQ: NFF defends Eagles travel plans

    WCQ: NFF defends Eagles travel plans

    The Nigeria Football Federation has defended the travel plans for the Super Eagles to Kenya ahead of Wednesday’s 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier against the Harambee Stars.

    Supersport.com reports that the Nigerian contingent will only arrive in Nairobi on Tuesday following long flights from Houston to Nairobi via Frankfurt and Addis Ababa.

    Coach of the Super Eagles, Stephen Keshi has since come down hard on the federation’s travel plans for the team insisting that it would be impossible for him to conduct any training session before Wednesday’s game.

    The NFF, through executive committee member, Barr. Chris Green, has now taken the time to explain the contingent’s itinerary.

    “A lot of people do not have the facts. Misinformation is a very bad thing. What we (the NFF) did was painstakingly planned. The weather conditions in Kenya make it impossible for non-locals to acclimatise until after five days.

    “Even if the team had flown straight to Nairobi from Houston (where Nigeria played a friendly against Mexico on Saturday), it would have given the boys just three days to acclimatise and that would not have been enough.

    “That would have been disastrous and we never wanted that to happen” Green said to Supersport.com on Monday.

    The NFF chief then added that the federation drew from a precedent set by the South Africa Football Association (SAFA) for a recent international against Ethiopia.

    “We studied carefully what SAFA did just before they played against Ethiopia, a country which has similar weather conditions as Kenya.

    “SAFA made it such that the Bafana Bafana team arrived in Addis Ababa on the day of the match and also left immediately after the match.

    “Getting to Kenya just before the game will act in our favour as we would not have to battle to acclimatise with the weather conditions.

    “It is more expensive to embark on the arrangement we currently have on ground. We will incur more costs and expend more on logistics spending days in Germany and Ethiopia but we have vowed to spare to no cost as a federation to see that Nigeria’s flag is hoisted at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil,” he said.

    Green then spoke about the gaffer’s constraints on not having adequate time to train with his wards before the game on Wednesday.

    “Keshi is a master of the mind games. He’s not an AFCON-winning coach for nothing.”

     

  • Mikel ‘ready’ for Eagles games

    Mikel ‘ready’ for Eagles games

    Super Eagles midfielder, John Mikel , Obi has confirmed his availability for Nigeria’s 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against Kenya and Namibia as well as the FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil next month, Supersport.com reports.

    The Chelsea ace, who was influential in Super Eagles triumph at the Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa in February, said he has an appointment with the Brazilian Embassy in London on Monday.

    “I always love to turn out for my country. I wish to confirm that I’ll be in Kenya and Namibia for the World Cup qualifying games and will also be in Brazil for the Confederations Cup.

    “It’s also true that I would have loved to play in the friendly match against Mexico in Houston, United States of America but circumstances and logistics have made this impossible. I love to represent my country,” Supersport.com quoted the midfield maestro as saying in a chat with Eagles’ Team Secretary, Enebi Achor.

    Mikel will join the Eagles in Frankfurt, Germany on their return from U.S and fly with the contingent to Nairobi aboard a Lufthansa Airline flight in the early hours of Tuesday, June 4.

     

  • Mikel may not make World Cup qualifiers – Keshi

    Mikel may not make World Cup qualifiers – Keshi

    … Rules out replacements for injured players

    Super Eagles Head Coach, Stephen Keshi, has expressed doubt about the availability of John Mikel Obi for the two World Cup qualifiers against Kenya and Namibia in June.

    Speaking exclusively with The Nationsport from Nuremberg, Germany, on Thursday, the “Big Boss” said although the Chelsea midfielder has asked to be excused for the friendly match against Mexico in the United States, he would stay back in England to process his visa to Brazil.

    Nigeria will participate in the FIFA Confederations Cup starting June 15 in Brazil.

    “Mikel has asked that he be excused for the friendly match against Mexico, but he would travel with his team for their pre season tour. But he would later return back to England to process his Brazilian visa. The implication of that is that he may not be available for the two World Cup qualifiers against Kenya and Namibia. So we would have to make do with the players in camp.”

    On Victor Moses, the former International said, “Victor sent me a text message that he would not be available until July 6 when he is expected to begin training. He said that he played the final phases of Chelsea’s league matches with recurring injury, and would need to use this period to treat it properly. We have to excuse him, because this is his career, and he needs to be fit to play for his club and the country. We are not thinking of replacing any of the injured players,” Keshi said.

    The former Togo and Mali National team coach expressed optimism that the players in camp would surely put smiles on the faces of all Nigerians in the forthcoming matches.

     

  • Moses, Uche opt out of Eagles’ June schedule

    Moses, Uche opt out of Eagles’ June schedule

    Chelsea ace Victor Moses will miss next month’s World Cup qualifiers and the Confederations Cup due to injury, MTNFootball.com reports.

    Nigeria travel to Kenya and Namibia in June in continuation of the qualifying series for Brazil 2014 and will also be in Brazil next month for the Confederations Cup.

    Chelsea has informed the Nigeria Football Federation that Moses, one of the best players of the Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa, has withdrawn from the Super Eagles matches so as to treat a recurring injury.

    He will therefore not be fit in time for the World Cup qualifiers and the Confederations Cup in Brazil next month.

    However, the London club said he will be with the team during the pre-season tour of United States to be monitored closely by doctors, but would not participate in the tour.

    Also opting out of the squad due to injury is Turkey-based Kalu Uche.

    In a message to coach Stephen Keshi, Uche claimed to have been playing with injury for some time now in the Turkish League, and on the advice of his doctor, will be using the opportunity of the off-season to undergo treatment.

    Keshi said he was disappointed both players did not inform him earlier about this development, but maintained on Monday night: “We have the players to deliver the World Cup ticket and to make Nigerians proud in Brazil.”

     

  • WCQ: Kenya FA needs $120,000 for Nigeria tie

    WCQ: Kenya FA needs $120,000 for Nigeria tie

    The Kenya Football Federation (KFF) said it needs $120,000 to prepare the Harambee Stars for the 2014 World Cup qualifier on June 5 against African champions Nigeria.

    KFF president Sam Nyamweya told MTNFootball.com that they are struggling financially and are calling upon all stakeholders for help.

    Nyamweya said according to their breakdown, the body needs $2,400,000 for the country’s World Cup dream to become a reality. “Most of this money will go in preparing the team and also having top friendly games,” Nyamweya explained.

    The KFF President said they are optimistic many private companies will come in to help because this campaign means a lot to Kenya.

    “We are sending the team to the 2013 COSAFA tournament in Zambia, hosting Ghana in a friendly game on June 1 and also hosting the CESAFA Senior Challenge Cup later this year and all this needs money,” Nyamweya said.

    The money is also expected to cover travel and camping logistics, including players and officials allowances plus accommodation for visiting teams.

    The Kenyans are currently bottom of Group F in the World Cup qualifier on two points behind third placed Namibia on three points while Malawi and Nigeria are tied on five points in second and first respectively.

    But victory against Nigeria next month could place Kenya back in contention for a place in the next round of the qualifiers.

     

  • WCQ: Super Eagles must defeat Kenya, Namibia – Keshi

    WCQ: Super Eagles must defeat Kenya, Namibia – Keshi

     

    Super Eagles head coach, Stephen Keshi, believes the upcoming 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Kenya and Namibia are cup finals that must be “approached with seriousness.”

    Supersport.com reports that Nigeria currently heads Group F for the Africa zone in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification with five points from three matches.

    Wins against Kenya and Namibia in June will virtually seal Nigeria’s place in the final round of qualifying; a fact not lost on Keshi.

    “Those games are Cup finals. We will do everything within our powers to get decent results in those games. It’s never easy to win away from home in Africa but we have to prove that we are champions,” Keshi told Supersport.com.

    The gaffer then went on to speak about Nigeria’s rise in the latest monthly rankings of world football body, FIFA.

    “If Nigerians are happy with the rise in the rankings, then I am also happy with that too but to be perfectly honest with you, that’s not what I am most concerned about.

    “I am concerned about providing things that Nigerians will be happy about.

    “As for the FIFA rankings, I don’t know how FIFA determines the system but like I said, if Nigerians are happy, then I am too,” he stressed.