Experience, Youthfulness To Determine W/Cup Team – Lagerback

Published

15 years ago

March 29, 2010

Super Eagles Technical Adviser Lars Lagerback says a combination of experience and youthfulness will determine the choice of players for his final 23-man list for the World Cup.

The players will be chosen from his current 45 short listed players.

Lagerback told a news conference at the weekend in Abuja on the selection of the national team for the South Africa 2010 mundial that he was not foreclosing his mind on the choice of players.

The Sweden born coach was appointed on February 27 to take charge of the team for the event from June 11 to July 11.

Lagerback said the most important thing for him now was to have players who would not lose concentration and combine individual skills with team organisation.

“It is not impossible to have new and young players in the team, but we have to realise that experience will be a factor, especially in facing group opponents, Argentina.

“The 45-man team I have short listed is not closed for now, because there is still room for a few new ones who can still come up either from the domestic front or other sources.

Lagerback, who was at the news conference with his Swede assistant Roland Andersson, said he had, soon after taking up the appointment, concentrated on planning how to tackle his job.

“I have been doing this with Andersson, my Nigerian assistants, and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), and it has been a smooth relationship with lots of support and analysis.

“For example, we have analysed most of the competitive and friendly matches Nigeria played in 2009, and earlier this year, and I can see we have detailed planning to do.

“For now, we will want to see the players in action, even though we know a lot about them, but we need to see them and let them know our philosophy,’’ he said.

The technical adviser, who confirmed that he had yet to visit any of the Nigerian players in Europe, said he was still going to look at more players.

He declared: “We are still assessing them, especially some of the home-based players I saw against DR Congo during the March 3 friendly in Abuja.

“I will look at them again against Niger Republic in Kano (yesterday).”

Lagerback said he was not going to select his 23-man final team without considering the players just recovering from injuries.

“We are going to do this with an open mind, and I am not closing my door against those just returning from injuries. We will have two weeks to assess them in training and friendlies.

“The major thing is to have players with the winning mentality, who will do the job in South Africa effectively,’’ he added.

The Swede also said that he was not going to rule out any player from his team on the basis of where he was playing his football.

“We are going to work with an open mind. It won’t matter where the player is. We will value them as individuals and based on what they can do,’’ he said.

CAFCC: Enyimba International In Pot 3 For Draws

Published

2 weeks ago

September 26, 2024

The Tide

African soccer governing body has released the pots for the qualified teams for the group stage of the Confederation Cup, Tidesports sources reports.
Enyimba International is among the 16 qualified teams for the group stage of the competition.
The People’s Elephant was placed in pot 3 alongside ASJaaraf, CS Constantine; Bravos Do Maquils, Lunda Suliat, Orapa United, Black Bulls, and Stellenbosch. Pot 1 consists of Zamalek, RS Berkane, Simba SC, and USM Algers while Pot 2 has ASEC Mimosa, Stade Malien, Al Masry, and CS Sfaxien.

Sports

AFCON 2025 Qualifiers : Super Eagles Host Libya, Oct 11

Published

2 weeks ago

September 26, 2024

The Tide

The Super Eagles of Nigeria will host the Mediterranean Knights of Libya in a 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matchday three encounter at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo on Friday, October 11.
The two teams will clash in a matchday four encounter at the Tripoli International Stadium four days later.
The Super Eagles started their qualifying campaign with a 3-0 home win against the Cheetahs of Benin Republic.
The three-time African champions were held to 0-0 draw by the Amavubi of Rwanda in their second group game.The West Africans occupy top spot in Group D with four points from two games.
Libya are bottom of the group after amassing one point from two games.
Only the top teams in each group will advance to the tournament proper in Morocco beginning in December 2025.
Meanwhile, Libya has opted to host Group D leaders Nigeria at the Martyrs of Benina Stadium, in their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying Matchday 4 encounter. The facility is located in the city of Benina, some 19 kilometres outside the country’s second city, Benghazi.
Known previously as Hugo Chávez Stadium, the stadium is a 10,000-capacity facility with an artificial turf.
Both countries will do a Matchday 3 battle at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo on Friday, 11th October, before the clash in the city at the edge of the Mediterranean Sea on Tuesday, 15th October.
While the match in Uyo will kick off at 5pm, the battle in Benina will commence at 8pm Nigeria time.
Libya remain bottom of Group D after two rounds of matches, following a 1-1 at home to Rwanda (a game that was played at the Tripoli International Stadium) and a 1-2 loss to the Cheetahs of Benin Republic in Abidjan.
Nigeria tops the pool with four points, after a 3-0 spanking of Benin Republic in Uyo on Matchday 1 and a scoreless draw with Rwanda’s Amavubi in Kigali on Matchday 2.

Sports

NYG: Kano Athletes Protest Over Allowances In Asaba

Published

2 weeks ago

September 26, 2024

The Tide

Kano State athletes, who participated in the concluded 8th edition of the National Youth Games (NYG) in Asaba, Delta State, last Friday called on Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf to address the issue of their poor camp allowances.
The athletes, speaking anonymously, expressed dissatisfaction with the daily allowance they received, claiming it was significantly lower than that of their counterparts from neighbouring Northwestern states.
“We were given less than N20,000 for ten days, while athletes from Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto, Kebbi, and Zamfara received N50,000. Jigawa athletes were paid the highest, receiving N80,000,” one of the athletes said.
Despite the disparity in allowances, the athletes secured five gold, three silver, and one bronze in the competition.
They urged the governor to intervene and resolve the issue.
Also, the athletes commended the Kano State Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Mustapha Rabiu Kwankwaso, for supporting other athletes representing the state in sports like football and basketball and hoped for similar support.
The objective of the National Youth Games, initiated by former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2013, is to promote unity, peace, and understanding among youths while addressing issues of restiveness and unemployment across the country.