The Nation Newspaper

Tag: world cup

  • World Cup: FG assures on adequate funding for Eagles

    World Cup: FG assures on adequate funding for Eagles

    The Federal Government will adequately fund the Super Eagles to the World Cup in June, the sports minister has assured.

    Nigeria qualified for its fifth World Cup in November, but there are serious concerns that the delay in the passage of the 2014 budget could adversely affect the team build-up for Brazil 2014, MTNFootball.com reports.

    Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi on Monday gave the assurance the cash will be available for the team in good time.

    “The Nigeria Football Federation has submitted the financial plans to the National Sports Commission and we have finished work on it and sent it to the appropriate quarters and we believe that it would receive priority attention,” MTNFootball.com quoted Abdullahi as saying on Monday.

    “I have no doubt in my mind that the plans for the World Cup would go very well.

    “We would give all the support that is necessary to the Nigeria Football Federation to succeed because if they succeed, everyone is happy.”

    Nigeria faces Mexico on March 5 in a warm-up game and several other tune-up matches are planned for the team.

    The Eagles will set up a training camp in Houston, United States, from May 25.

    The African champions will play Argentina, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iran in the first round of the World Cup, which kicks off in June.

     

  • BRAZIL 2014: Babatunde eyes World Cup spot

    BRAZIL 2014: Babatunde eyes World Cup spot

    Nigeria’s Michael Babatunde is hopeful of making the Super Eagles squad to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

    The Nigeria international, who is enjoying a new lease of life in Ukraine topflight with Volyn Lutsk, is not in a hurry to move elsewhere despite media reports linking him with a move to Dnipro and Spanish side, Valencia in the summer.

    Nevertheless, the left-footer wants to fulfil his three-year long contract playing for Volyn, insisting that he hasn’t given up on his World Cup dream and hopes that good performances can help him in the fight for a World Cup spot.

    “I’m a consistent performer here and I hope that helps me to make my country’s World Cup squad in June. I still remember the participation in the Confederations Cup in Brazil last summer. It was the experience of playing with the best teams in the world,” recalled the 21-year-old who was having huge problems in Kryvbas and decided to move to Lutsk at the start of the 2013/14 campaign to gurantee a regular place.

    “I came here last summer, and the main reason for this was the coach, Vitaly Kvartsyany.

    “It was his personality that attracted me, and that was why I chose Volyn ahead of any other club.

    “My contract is for three years so I intend to see it out here, because even ask about changing the team now is not worth it,” Babatunde told Volyn’s official website.

  • Uzochukwu wants World Cup action

    Uzochukwu wants World Cup action

    Super Eagles defensive midfielder Ugonna Uzochukwu has vowed to fight for his inclusion in the squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

    The Enugu Rangers man is among the domestic Eagles that won bronze at the just concluded African Nations Championship (CHAN) in South Africa.

    Uzochukwu said he is heading back to his Coal City side for the 2013/14 Glo Premier League season with the aim of improving his chance of inclusion in the World Cup list.

    “Yes, I’ll work extra hard at my club to get a call up for the World Cup since the coach has assured to include few of us who will keep match fitness, I’ve no choice but to improve on my game.

    “Of course, I’ve committed myself to Enugu Rangers for the coming season and am prepared to do my best under the new coach, John Obuh, to ensure we’ve a successful season,” Uzochukwu told supersport.com.

    Uzochukwu approves his side’s bronze performance at the 2014 CHAN competition in South Africa.

    “The bronze performance wasn’t entirely a bad one for us considering the fact that we participated in the championship for the first time.

    “Everybody expected us to win the championship, we equally wanted to win but it didn’t come through.

    “There will be other championships in future I believe we’ll do better in subsequent events.

    “We’ve noted our shortcomings and are sure to profit from them when next time we queue up for the football showpiece,” Uzochukwu said.

    Nigeria finished the 16-team biennial football championship as third best behind runners-up, Ghana and winners, Libya.

  • Martins gives up on World Cup dream

    Martins gives up on World Cup dream

    • Enjoys pre-season with Sounders

    Super Eagles striker, Obafemi Martins may have given up on the hope of representing Nigeria at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, following an interview he gave to a Seattle Sounders blog site recently.

    The former Newcastle and Birmingham City fan was asked if he had talked to Coach Stephen Keshi about what he had to do, to get back in the national team, and his answer was clear:

    “I think there is nothing to say. He’s the head coach, so he knows the players that he wants. There is nothing I can talk about, like calling him,” Martins told blog.seattletimes.com.

    The man fondly called ‘Oba-Goal’ because of his goal scoring exploits for the Super Eagles, earned his last cap in the international friendly against Italy at Fulham.

    Martins also confessed that attending pre-season training with his Seattle Sounders team mates is one of the best things that can happen to him ahead of the new campaign.

    Martins joined the Washington side mid-season last term, but endured a hard campaign with injuries blighting his season.

    “I think it’s much better this season that I get to start fresh with the team. With me, I think pre-season is very important.

    “With that, I have to adapt trying to play alongside other players, as well, my teammates. I’m ready to go” he told a Seattle Times blog.

    “I think it’s good to have a break, because playing in Spain, coming back here, coming to Seattle, starting right away, I think I’ve been playing for like a year, a year and a month or so.

    “But it’s good to have an offseason, to have rest, and then come in today.”

    Martins returned to Washington despite rumours that he is trying to engineer a move away from the team.

  • BRAZIL 2014 FIFA WORLD CUP: Keshi to submit programme next month

    BRAZIL 2014 FIFA WORLD CUP: Keshi to submit programme next month

    Super Eagles’ Head Coach Stephen Keshi has told Sportinglife that he intends to submit his 2014 World cup programme in the second week of February.

    The Big Boss who spoke exclusively to us in Abuja on Tuesday before leading his team to South Africa said the program intends to begin fully in March 2014 “I had to delay the submission of the program until after the Africa Championship holding in South Africa. Immediately the Championship ends in the first week of February, I will submit my program to my employer’s, the NFF. The program is ready and we intend to begin preparation in March. I had to delay its released to enable me see if there would some home based players that would excel in the Africa Championship so that we would include them in the team. Because, as I am submitting the program, the team list would be included alongside”.

    When probed further to let us into the team list, the Big Boss said “what again do you want to know in the team list , I don’t intend adding any other player from what I have been using for the qualifiers. The boys have started understanding themselves and the cohesion is very noticeable, so I don’t want to truncate that by making further invitations”

    The former Togo National Head Coach insisted that he is not sticking out his neck on winning the CHAN trophy, but promised to take each match as they come.

  • Flamingoes must play quality matches before World Cup — NFF

    Flamingoes must play quality matches before World Cup — NFF

    • Says ties with Ghana’s Black Maidens not yet sealed

    In order to actually test the might of the Flamingoes, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has expressed that the country’s U17 women’s national team will play lots of friendly matches with local clubs before they will jet out for a foreign tour ahead of the FIFA World Cup.

    The Flamingoes have China, Mexico and Colombia to contend with in a rather cagey Group D encounters in March this year.

    The country’s representatives barely kicked a ball before cruising to an Africa record fourth outing at the World tournament slated for Costa Rica between March 15th and April 4th. The Flamingoes share that record with Ghana that have also played at every edition of the U17 World Cup since 2008 in New Zealand.

    Nigeria qualified alongside South Africa for the second round because they were termed the top teams. In the second round, the Flamingoes were billed to play South Sudan before they pulled out ostensibly to dodge an heavy defeat from the Nigerians.

    It is in the light of this that a top official of the NFF, Barrister Christopher Green told SportingLife that the Glass House would subject the Flamingoes to series of friendly matches with Nigerian clubs to ascertain the quality of team before embarking on any foreign tour.

    Barrister Green also corrected the media hype that the NFF had already concluded a two-legged international friendly match for the Flamingoes with the Black Maidens of Ghana. The former Sharks of Port Harcourt Secretary said that the games are still being worked out and that they are not yet finalised.

    Barrister Green noted that the Flamingoes would have been passed fit to represent the country first based on their outings with local clubs before they could be allowed to play international matches.

    “The Flamingoes have not been tested by the NFF reckoning. We cannot assume that we have a team yet when they qualified for the World Cup without any competitive match. They will resume camp shortly and will be made to play a lot of friendly matches with local clubs before we can consider taking them out of the country for friendly matches.

    “The ties with Ghana are one of the possibilities. We have not concluded with that yet. We have also submitted proposals to some countries to enable them have training tour and the feedback we have been getting from these countries has been marvellous,” Green said.

    The Flamingoes exited the FIFA U17 World Cup at the quarter-final stage in Azerbaijan two years ago despite being the overwhelming favourites to lift the trophy. They lost on penalty shootout to eventual winners France in 2012. The squad then led by coach Peter Devdevbo had earlier beaten Azerbaijan 13-0 in one of the group matches before the surprise loss to France.

  • Why Ahmed Musa could be the surprise package in Brazil

    Why Ahmed Musa could be the surprise package in Brazil

    The globe’s greatest sporting competition has a tradition of unveiling new and exciting players; could 2014 be the year for Nigeria’s young and talented forward?

    The World Cup has a quaint tradition of introducing new players into the global stratosphere. Rarely does a tournament pass without another name being made worldwide and a fresh superstar etching his name into the annals of history.

    Pele and Michael Owen are two characters who were established before a watching public in the 1958 and 1998 tournaments respectively. As a prodigious teenager, Pele conquered the world as Brazil’s bright young thing, while Owen’s goal against Argentina in Saint-Etienne, when only 18, gave the player a sense of immortality and vitality that only the ravages of injuries could undermine.

    Similarly, players such as Marc Overmars and Landon Donovan burst onto the scene at the World Cup in such a way that their progress within the sport would always be drawn back to that original glistening moment in the sun.

    Is there any reason why Nigeria’s Ahmed Musa could not be the latest in the long line of these World Cup wonderkids?

    At the competition, these days, there is a prize, the Young Player of the Tournament Award, which is given to the spectacle’s breakout star. This article outlines why Musa could be that man in 2014.

  • Eagles’ World Cup watch

    Eagles’ World Cup watch

    Several Super Eagles stars were in action in England and Scotland on Boxing Day and MTNFootball.com takes a look at their performances as the 2014 World Cup draws closer.

    Victor MoseS: He was a 68th minute sub as Liverpool went down 2-1 at Manchester City. He gave a sneak preview of what to expect at next year’s World Cup when he came face-to-face with Argentina right fullback Pablo Zabaleta. Both players were booked for fouls against each other. Zabaleta’s challenge on Moses was brutal. Will the Nigeria vs Argentina clash in Brazil be a physical combat?

    Mikel Obi: The midfielder got his second straight start and saw action for the entire duration as Chelsea laboured to beat Swansea City 1-0 at Stamford Bridge.

    SHOLA AMEOBI: The big striker was a 46th minute substitute for Newcastle United when he replaced Vurnon Anita in his team’s 5-1 trouncing of Stoke City. But he has yet to get his first EPL goal this season.

    Efe Ambrose: He was on from start to finish as Celtic cemented their place on top of the Scottish Premier League with a 1-0 win away at St. Johnstone.

    Osaze Odemwingie: He was in action for 46 minutes as Cardiff City fell 3-0 at home to Southampton. The Welsh team are now flirting with relegation besides the internal wrangling going on there.

    Nnamdi Oduamadi: He sat on the bench for the entire duration as his Italian Serie B team Brescia beat hosts Juve Stabia 2-1. This cannot enhance his chances of making the World Cup final squad.

    Victor Anichebe: It was another no-show for ‘The Beast’ as his team West Brom secured a point at Tottenham Hotspur with a 1-1 draw. He missed the game due to a groin injury.

    Gabriel Reuben: He was nowhere near the Kilmarnock bench as they recorded an emphatic 4-0 away win over Heart of Midlothian.

  • World Cup: Keshi proposes U.S camp for Eagles

    World Cup: Keshi proposes U.S camp for Eagles

    Super Eagles Coach, Stephen Keshi , has proposed a United States training camp for the team ahead of 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

    The Super Eagles training camp will open on May 25.

    Keshi said the Eagles would camp in cities with similar weather condition with Brazil and would pick either Maimi or Houston for the training camp, MTNFootball.com reports.

    “I have proposed that we camp in the United States because by the time we would be opening our camping the U.S would have the same weather as Brazil,” Keshi said.

    “There are several U.S cities that would be hot like Brazil and would have the same temperature like Sao Paolo, where we would be based at the World Cup.”

    The former Mali and Togo boss also revealed that he would like to play friendly matches with countries with similar play style with Nigeria’s world Cup group opponents Argentina, Iran and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

    Keshi further said Japan is the only country who has shown interest in playing the Eagles, stating that he would also like to play countries like Peru.

    “Considering the countries we have in our group, I would love the Eagles to play countries from the region that have the same playing style. But it would also depend on the availability of such countries because some of them may have concluded their friendly arrangement already,” he said.

    “But while in Brazil for the draws I was told Japan is interested in playing us, but I would also like to play countries like Peru,” he told MTNFootball.com.

     

  • World Cup 2014: Adamu warns Eagles not to underrate opponents

    World Cup 2014: Adamu warns Eagles not to underrate opponents

    Amos Adamu, a former Director-General, National Sports Commission (NSC), on Tuesday said that the Super Eagles must be wary of their 2014 World Cup opponents.

    Adamu told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that there were no longer minnows in football as all the teams had the potential to win the cup.

    NAN reports that the Eagles will play in Group F of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, alongside Argentina, Iran and Bosnia- Herzegovina.

    “How I wish they win the World Cup. One fundamental thing we mustn’t underestimate is that all the teams that qualified for the World Cup are potential winners.

    “So we don’t have to start looking down on a country and feel that they are not threats to us. Every team emerges from a competition.

    “So no team in Brazil is a cheap party. But I think we are at our best now and with a little bit of good luck, we’ll thrive,” Adamu said.

    He noted that there was need for the team’s technical crew to give other players a chance, adding that it would help strengthen the team.

    “The team is good and has been consistent but we can’t rule out the fact that the team needs to be strengthened in some departments.

    “Therefore, I think it would be important to recall some players who appear to be doing well in their clubs at the moment,” he said.

    NAN reports that Nigeria would play its first match in the group stage against Iran, its second against Bosnia and the last one against Argentina.

    Soccer pundits had expressed the belief that Nigeria and Argentina would likely qualify from the group but, however, warned the Eagles of complacency or overconfidence.