International Friendlies Expose World Cup Teams

Soccer fans in Port
Harcourt, Rivers State capital, have said that the friendly matches provided by Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) as an international window for countries participating in the World Cup has shown that some teams have improvements to make before the competition.
Some of the fans who spoke in an exclusive interview with Tidesports in Port Harcourt, over the weekend particularly described the friendly game between Super Eagles of Nigeria and Mexico as an eye-opener adding that coach Stephen Keshi has a lot to do if the team hoped to do well in Brazil.
Mr Chika Okenwa, a soccer fan was of the view that the friendly game has shown that the coaching crew of Super Eagles needs a lot to do in ensuring that the mid-field and strickers coordinate effectively pointing out that such coordination was lacking in the friendly match.
Also speaking, Etim Bassy, who claimed to be a Chelsea fan in Port Harcourt, was optimistic that Super Eagles would do well in Brazil in as much as the players officials are prepared to draw a lesson from Mexico friendly.
According to him, playing a goalless draw with Mexico was a good development for Eagles I hope Keshi will fine-tune formation and tactics.
Chime Nwankwo, another Chelsea fan said that winning friendly matches was no assurance that the team would do well at the world cup stressing that the important thing was that Coach Keshi  has positive  and negative lesson to draw from the game.
Meanwhile, FCT Chapter Chairman, Nigeria Football Coaches Association (NFCA), said the Super Eagles’ 2014 World Cup team was still a work in progress.
“Let’s be realistic, friendliness at this time of the season are very cagey and deceptive, because players are trying to preserve themselves for the crucial stages of the season and at the same time for the World Cup,’’ he said.
The coaches association official said the team had a good first half during the Mexico match.
“But it looked like the Mexicans wanted the game more than the Eagles in the second half.
“Overall, it was a nice game, especially for debutants like (Michael) Uchebo, (Leon) Balogun and Azeez (Ramon). But, as a coach, I was a little bit disappointed about Balogun’s injury.
“I sincerely hope and pray that it was not a serious one, because I will really love to see him play more games.
“Uchebo and (Imoh) Ezekiel also showed some good flashes of what they can bring into the team, but only time will tell,’’ he said.
Bamigboye however said the team was still lacking an attacking midfielder as well as a world-class striker and goal scorer to help ease the burden on Emenike.
The Secretary of FCT Football Association, Alhaji Ibrahim Abdullahi, said the Eagles’ squad contained a potentially-exciting blend of youth and experience.
He said the team would make the country as well as Africa proud if its talents were well harnessed
The FA secretary also singled out some players for praise for putting up a good performance, saying they had already sealed a place for themselves in the World Cup squad.
“The likes of Onazi (Ogenyi) and  Uchebo gave a good account of themselves.

Isaac Nwankwo

Super Eagles player trying to outsmart an opponent during a friendly match in Nigeria, recently