W/Cup Qualifiers: Keshi Restates Readiness For Kenya

Super Eagles Coach, Stephen Keshi has stated that his team will need to re-enact their Nations Cup winning form in the crucial World Cup qualifying game against Kenya next month, using the friendly against Mexico as a crucial test.

The home-based contingent of the Super Eagles travelled to Germany for a training camp last week were they will take on Mexico on May 31 after being joined by their Euro-based counterparts.

“We need to continue and in fact we are continuing from where we stopped in South Africa where we won the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations. We hope to continue to build a strong team that would be able to withstand the test of time,” Keshi said.

“I believe this team has the capacity and talents to get to the level that we want them to be. The performance of the new players in the match against Mexico will give us more options in the team.

“A good result in this match will put us in good stead for the important 2014 World Cup qualifying match first against Kenya in Nairobi and the second one also away to Namibia.

“So we need to play well and play good against Mexico to toughen us ahead of the qualifiers,” the former coach of Togo and Mali emphasised.It will be recalled that Nigeria forced Kenya to a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture played at the UJ Esuene Stadium, Calabar.

Meanwhile, Goalkeeper Austin Ejide was the first of the Europe-based professionals to report to the Super Eagles camp in Germany on Monday, as the team continued their training programme ahead of a busy summer schedule.

Ejide joined up with the squad of 12 local professionals who arrived last Friday at their Novina Hotel lodgings in Nuremberg.

Later in the day, the squad were joined by first-time call up Anthony Ujah.

The Super Eagles have a friendly game against Mexico on May 31, then follow that with two 2014 World Cup qualifying matches against Kenya and Namibia before heading off to Brazil for the FIFA Confederations Cup tournament.