Sports
Sustain Performance At AFCON 2013, Fans Urge Eagles
Some football fans on Saturday advised the Super Eagles to sustain their current level of performance at the 2013 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in South Africa.
The Eagles beat Liberia’s Lone Star 6-1 at the U.J. Esuene Stadium in Calabar on Saturday to qualify for the competition.
Some of the fans spoke in separate interviews in reaction to the win. Secretary of Nigerian Women Professional League (NWPL), Danlami Alanana, said the players did Nigerians proud with their performance which gave them an 8-3 aggregate win.
He however advised that they should further convince many football followers that they did not qualify on a platter of gold.
“They did Nigerians proud and I hope they will sustain their performance in the course of the competition in South Africa.
“This is because it is not just about playing Liberia and qualifying for the competition.
“All we want now is for the players to show the world that they did not qualify on a platter of gold.
“They should improve on their performance so that we can be a force to reckon with, once again, in football,’’ Alanana said.
He however commended the efforts of the team’s overseas-based players and advised the technical crew to be more tactical and help the players to remain focused.
“The foreign-based players really proved their worth and you will discover that they really brought about some difference in the game.
“I will say their call-up was justified to a large extent, because the level of the game was high and they showed a high level of seriousness.
“I want to advise the technical crew that they should not relax in their work, because this is just the beginning and the crew has to be more tactical,’’ Alanana, who is a staff of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA), said.
A football coach in the FCT, who matched the match Maruf Adeyemo, said the Eagles should always show more seriousness and determination during any game.
He said he would be expecting the team to display such quality at the AFCON finals in South Africa next year.
“They (the Eagles) played a good game. But based on what they played, they were too confident of winning and I think we should not toy with this kind of game next time.
“I commend coach Stephen Keshi’s effort of blending the home-based players with their overseas-based counterparts.
“If you look back at the first leg game in Liberia which had ended 2-2 last month, it was basically a team of the home-based, while today’s is a blend of the two.
“A Sunshine Stars player and a Warri Wolves defender also played in the defence, and this shows that the coach has confidence in the Nigerian League.
“As for me, a Nigerian player is a Nigerian player as long as you can restore the lost glory for this country and be able to justify being called to play,’’ Adeyemo said.
A youth corps member, Felix Nwagwu, said the Eagles should improve on converting their scoring chances to goals.
“They missed a lot of scoring chances, even though they won. But they played a very good game and they were composed.
“But they should have scored more goals than they did. They should be more focused.
“They also need to change the attitude we saw in somebody like Victor Moses, who in spite of playing well was complacent towards the end of the match.
“He was no longer serious as the game went towards its end, because he felt his side was winning. But no matter how small a team is, they should never be underrated.
“Our players should play all games to the best of their ability and not take any chances at all.
“However, I commend the other players, especially the overseas-based ones. It appears that when they are invited to play crucial matches like this one, they will give their best performance,’’ he said.
The 2013 African Cup of Nations in South Africa will hold from January 19 to February 10.
Sports
CAA Wants Ghana To Host 2026 Athletics Champions
The Confederation of African Athletics has invited Ghana to bid for the hosting rights of the 2026 African Athletics Championships, following a successful athletics event at the just concluded 2023 African Games.
President of Ghana Athletics, Bawa Fuseini, stated this and expressed confidence in the transformative potential of the Legon Stadium for athletes and Ghana’s bid to host international competitions.
With a capacity of 11,000, the Legon Stadium played a pivotal role in the recent African Games, hosting both the opening and closing ceremonies as well as various sporting events including athletics, football, and rugby.
Fuseini highlighted the success of the athletics events held at the stadium, which contributed to Ghana winning six medals.
“We have already started getting requests from the Confederation of African Athletics to bid for the 2026 African Athletics Championships.
“When they came and saw what we have put in place and the level of organisation, they told me that for the last 20 years, they’ve never seen any organisation like this before. We did three official courses. And the last one, we had 110, all of them passed. We had a lot of officials and equipment.”
Since its establishment in 1979, Ghana has never hosted the African Athletics Championships, with Nigeria being the host country twice, in 1989 and 2018.
This year, Cameroon will take the reins as the host nation, with the event set to be held at the Olembe Stadium.
Sports
‘I’m Not Under Pressure To Coach Eagles’
Finidi George, head coach of the Nigeria Premier Football Leagues side, Enyimba, has stated that he is not losing any sleep over getting the Super Eagles job on a permanent basis.
Early this month, the Nigeria Football Federation declared the position of the Super Eagles’ head coach vacant, following the exit of Portuguese Jose Peseiro, who led the side to a second-place finish at the 2023 Africa Cup Nations in Ivory Coast in February.
In an advertisement on its website calling for applications with a March 13 deadline, the football governing body stated that the prospective Eagles coach “must have proven experience at the elite level of football.”
The former Ajax man, who also applied for the job, was appointed Eagles interim coach for the international window with the former winger picking a win and suffering a defeat.
In an interview with Tidesports source, the 52-year-old tactician said he was not desperate for the job permanently.
“I felt really good when I was told to take charge of the team. I have been with the team for almost two years, I know all the players, their strengths, and their weaknesses but I am only here to serve Nigeria the way I know how to do stuff.
“I will just take these two games and go back to my club. Whatever the decision is taken after, so be it. I’m not under pressure to say I must get the role permanently.”
Sports
‘Reasons Why Eagles Lost To Mali’
The friendly games against Ghana and Mali were to serve as an audition for George Finidi, who was in charge of the team on an interim basis, but the Eagles’ lacklustre display in those friendlies has called for his further evaluation.
Finidi kept faith with ex-coach Jose Peseiro’s defensive formation against Mali on the back of his first win (against Ghana) in charge of the team four days earlier.
But this time, his defence was punished following a combination of defensive errors and poor passes.
The Eagles struggled to play out of defence due to the high pressing of the Malians and it was no surprise that the first goal by Les Aigles was a direct result of their aggression.
Chidozie Awaziem, who started on the right of the back three alongside Kenneth Omeruo and Semi Ajayi, lacked composure and was pressured into making a pass across his box straight at Bilal Toure, who made no mistake in getting the ball past Stanley Nwabali. They missed the calming presence of injured William Troost-Ekong.
Vice captain, Kenneth Omeruo, was also culpable of misplaced passes and was beaten for pace when Kamory Doumbia ran past him to seal Mali’s first win in over four decades, firing his shot past a helpless Nwabali, who stood no chance.
Eagles wing backs, Bright Osayi-Samuel and Jamilu Collins also did not do enough to support the team in attack when they had the chance to.
Lack of creativity
Finidi paired Raphael Onyedika and Wilfred Ndidi in a double pivot in midfield. Both players are naturally anchor men and neither is a box-to-box midfielder.
They both do not possess the offensive capability to drive the team’s attack forward, which left the Eagles once again craving for a natural creative midfielder.
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