Sports
Germany U20 Skipper Open For S’ Eagles
Germany skipper Kevin
Akpoguma came up against the Flying Eagles of Nigeria in yesterday’s U20 World Cup Round of 16 clash, which he helped the Germans beat Nigeria 1-0 but he has said he has not ruled out the possibility of featuring for Nigeria’s full international team.
Akpoguma’s father is Kelvin and hails from Benin City in Midwest Nigeria.
He and his wife, Annett, are in Christchurch, New Zealand, to cheer their 20-year-old son to glory at the U20 World Cup.
The son said he expected his father, who moved to Germany over 20 years ago, to have waved the flags of both countries during the singing of the national anthems.
But the younger Akpoguma, whose heroes are Jerome Boateng and Yaya Toure, said world champions Germany will be his first choice, but would at the same time not shut the door on the Super Eagles.
“As long as I can play for Germany, I will leave this door open,” he told The Press.
“If I see the level is too high, maybe, I will look for the other goal (with Nigeria).”
Akpoguma has visited Nigeria twice and could still play for the Super Eagles at full international level should he decide to do so.
But the immediate focus of the imposing central defender was yesterday’s U20 World Cup Round of 16 clash against the Flying Eagles at Christchurch.
“It was a special game for me because my dad is from Nigeria,” said Kevin, who has scored at this tournament thus far and will next season go on loan to German second division side Fortuna Dusseldorf from Hoffenheim where he has yet to make his first-team debut.
Cuper’s squad for the match against Tanzania is one which features a blend of youth and experience, though he will surely look to star players such as Mohamed Salah, Mohamed El-Nenny, Ahmed Elmohamady and Ahmed Fathy as the men to build the team around.
Tanzania, who have not been to the Nations Cup finals since 1980, start as complete underdogs, but coach Mart Nooij is a canny operator and will hope to make best use of the fact that the game will be played behind closed doors due to previous violence in Egyptian football.
Egypt and the Taifa Stars have met in nine previous matches, with the North Africans boasting an unbeaten record which includes eight wins and a combined score of 35-10 in their favour.
The other Group G match this weekend will see Nigeria host Chad in Kaduna.
A well-known football pundit in the State, Chief Christopher Okonkwo has lauded the efforts and vision of the Super Eagles Coach Eric Chelle for going from one venue of the Nigeria Domestic Nigeria Professional Football League match to the other in monitoring Nigerian players, with a view to invite some exceptional good one discovered into the main stream of the Super Eagles team.
Okonkwo, who made the commendation in an interview at the Port Harcourt Club recently, described the positive move by Coach Chelle as a good step in the right direction, noting that the practice was how its been done in the past among any contracted coach assigned to tinker the Super Eagles team.
“Truly, it has been an old tradition in the country seeing any newly engaged Coach to lead the National team, visiting some our Nigeria League venues during the league matches to spot light some good talents that could be used to beef up some grey areas in the department of Eagles team”
He, however, frowned at the current situation where our coaches had continously been over depending on the use of foreign based players during invitation of players to the National camp, thereby, relegating the domestic home based league players to the background as if they have nothing much to offer to the team.
“I can vividly recall that the likes of great players in the mode of Finidi George, Taribo West, Kanu Nwankwo, Austin Okocha, Richard Owobokiri, Emmanuel Osuigwe among others started from Nigeria football league before they graduated to play in Europe through which they later invited to Super Eagles camp to represent Nigeria”
“Besides, I’m also of the view that going to secondary school football competitive games could equally serves as a a good platform to discover budding talents that could be nurtured to become great stars in near future”, Okonkwo frankly added.
Okonkwo, therefore, prayed that any football coach to be engaged by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to tinker the Super Eagles should be told not to confine himself in staying in big hotel alone but to be visiting some of our local league match venues, with a view to discover some good players that can be drafted into the Super Eagles team.
“Indeed, I stand to be challenged that there some young good players in the Nigeria Professional League. If spotted and exposed, could give the some of the invited foreign based players a stiff competitive fight in securing a postion in the team”, Okonkwo emphatically stated.
Ezechukwu, one of the youngest members of the Nigerian contingent at the championship in Ghana, said her ambition was to win the 100m title in style and cap it with a new personal record.
The fresh secondary school graduate explained that she is fully focused on contributing to Team Nigeria’s medal hopes and is determined to deliver strong performances across her events.
“My main objective in Ghana is to clinch the 100m title and the 4×100m,” Ezechukwu told Tidesports source.
“Nigeria can be assured of my very best and my commitment to the Team. I would love to set a new personal best in Ghana, but anything that comes, I will take it. The spirit in the team is high, and I think we are ready to go,” she said.
Ezechukwu, who was part of Nigeria’s women’s 4x100m relay squad at the World Relays in Botswana, said the experience gained from that competition has strengthened her mindset heading into the continental championships.
She admitted that she learned valuable lessons from her previous outing, including a difficult moment during the relay where an early error affected the team’s rhythm, but said she has used the experience to improve her discipline and composure.
“The secret is just being disciplined, training hard and trusting my coach and believing in God, and the result will show,” she added.
The teenager is part of a 41-member Nigerian team comprising 24 female and 17 male athletes competing at the championships, which begin today at the University of Ghana, Legon.
Nigeria are expected to compete across multiple track and field events as they aim for a strong finish against the continent’s elite athletes.
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