Sports
2019 AFCON: Nigeria Takes Burundi In Opening Game, Morrow
A much-fancied Nigeria side begin their Africa Cup of Nations campaign with a match against tournament debutants Burundi at the Alexandria Stadium, tomorrow
The Super Eagles are aiming to go all the way for the second time in six years and have a nice fixture to ease themselves in.
Dealt a difficult hand in last summer’s World Cup, placed in a group with Argentina and finalists Croatia, Nigeria crashed out at the group stage and they are now looking to make amends.
Advancing to the knockout rounds is their minimum target in Egypt, though reaching the final on July 19 and adding to their three previous titles will be the real aim.
Experienced boss Gernot Rohr, who has managed four African sides over the last nine years, has assembled a talented group that looks capable of challenging the likes of Senegal, Ivory Coast, Ghana and hosts Egypt.
The German coach has named eleven players under the age of 24 in his squad, though he does have experienced faces in John Obi Mikel, Kenneth Omeruo and Ahmed Musa.
Nigeria failed to impress during their pre-tournament friendlies as they played out a goalless draw with rank outsiders Zimbabwe and then lost 1-0 to Senegal last weekend.
However, up against a side 89 places below them in the latest FIFA rankings in their opening fixture, anything other than victory for the Super Eagles will be considered a major shock.
Then comes a trickier match against Guinea in their second match, before facing another competition debutant in Madagascar.
The battle with Guinea is expected to determine which side finishes top of Group B. Getting off to a positive start against Burundi is therefore imperative for Rohr and his players.
Meanwhile, Burundi are competing in a major tournament for the first time ever after finishing above Gabon in qualifying with 10 points from their six group matches.
The Swallows may be newbies on the big stage but, as they showed throughout the qualifying campaign, they cannot be written off as they drew home and away with Gabon and did enough in their other fixtures to finish second to Mali, who they will face in the competition proper.
Ranked 134th in the world, though, Burundi have a massive task on their hands if they are to make it any further than the group phase.
The last debutants to progress beyond the first round were Cape Verde, who qualified for the 2013 quarter-finals at the expense of Angola and Morocco before losing to Ghana.
Burundi head into their opening fixture on the back of a 2-1 loss to Tunisia earlier this week, conceding to a Naim Sliti goal in added time to see their unbeaten run come to an end.
Olivier Niyungeko’s men had gone seven games without defeat prior to that, earning a couple of draws against Gabon and Mali, as well as holding Algeria.
Playing out 1-1 draws is very much Burundi’s forte – that has been the scoreline in five of their last eight matches – and that will be the aim against heavyweights Nigeria, tomorrow.
Achieve that and Niyungeko’s side will remain well on course to keeping their dream adventure alive.
Sports
CAFCL: Finidi Laud Players Over Impressive Performance
Sports
Umuahia Hosts Africa Para- Badminton Championship
The championship will run from today to October 12 at the International Conference Centre, Umuahia. On the ground for the championship are athletes from Brazil, Peru, Egypt, Cameroon, Tunisia, Nigeria, Mauritius and Rwanda. They arrived on Sunday.
Some of the other countries were expected in the Abia State capital yesterday. Speaking on the championship, yesterday, Abia State Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Nwobilor Ananaba, said the chief host, Governor Alex Otti, has mobilised facilities and the personnel to ensure a successful event.
Speaking through the Special Assistant to the Governor on Sports, Raymond Chima Ukwa, said: “We have the best mats, playing mats, especially the wheelchair playing mats, which is the first of its kind in West Africa.
“If you go around, you’ll see the hall and the preparation that has been made to ensure that people have an equitable world-class playing field.” Thrilled by Governor Otti’s support for the competition, Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN) President, Francis Orbih, said that, besides making all the necessary arrangements that will ensure a successful hosting of the events, “we will have a Para-Badminton workshop for coaches and players.
“Nigeria is doing well, Abia is doing well, and we want to do better to improve on where we are, which is why all these have been put together by Governor Otti.”
Sports
FIFA U20: Flying Eagles Narrowly Loss to Norway
Nigeria’s Flying Eagles began their campaign at the 24th FIFA U20 World Cup with a narrow 1–0 loss to Norway on Monday, despite creating several opportunities to level the game.
Norway took the lead in the 9th minute after being awarded a controversial penalty. The Flying Eagles pressed for an equaliser but were denied two penalty claims in the second half.
Kparobo Arierhi came close in the 47th minute when his shot drifted wide with the goalkeeper beaten, while Tahir Maigana struck the upright in the 63rd minute.
Nasiru Salihu’s rising effort in the 71st minute also went narrowly over the bar, drawing gasps from the crowd.
Seven minutes from time, Maigana again tested Norway with a long-range strike that went just wide as Nigeria continued to pile on the pressure.
Despite their dominance, the Flying Eagles could not find the breakthrough and now turn their attention to Thursday’s clash against Saudi Arabia in their second group match.
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