TheNewsGuru

Tag: Super Eagles

  • My daughters are my biggest supporters – Mikel Obi

    Super Eagles’ captain, Mikel Obi has said that his twin daughters – Ava and Mia are his biggest supporters.

    Mikel who joined Middlesbrough early this year, has been outstanding for the Tony Pulis-tutored side with his immense contribution to the team’s 1-0 away win over Blackburn Rovers wrote on his social media page yesterday that the twins are his angels.

    “My biggest supporters, my angels,” Mikel wrote on his Instagram page yesterday and the comment has received positive responses from his fans across the globe.

    Mikel displayed the photos of his twin girls in their London home, wearing the colours of Boro with their father’s name – Mikel written on the back. The twin – Ava and Mia were born in 2015 two years after Mikel got engaged to Russian businesswoman Olga Diyachenko.

    With Boro hosting QPR this weekend, Coach Pulis will be looking up to the former Chelsea midfielder to marshal the centre in his fourth league game for the team.

    Having amassed 54 points from 32 matches to occupy fifth place on the league, Boro will be aiming for another victory in their push for promotion to the English Premiership.

    See post:

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BuEFlOYnlpL/

  • Gunmen kill ex-Super Eagles player Odemwingie’s manager

    Gunmen have killed the manager of a hotel belonging to ex-Nigeria international footballer, Osaze Odemwingie, located at Erediauwa Street, off Upper Sokponba Road, Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area, Edo State.

    The victim identified as Osato Okunkpolo, was reportedly killed on Sunday.

    A source who spoke to NAN said the gunmen gained access to the hotel at about 9 p.m. and shot Okunkpola dead.

    Edo Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Chidi Nwabuzor, who confirmed the incident, said Okunkpolo was hit by a bullet in a shootout between two rival cult groups.

    Nwabuzor said members of Eiye and Aye engaged in a shootout in the area on Sunday night.

    “The incident is true. It is true that a murder occurred at Odemwingie Hotel on the February 17, 2019.

    ‘‘The incident was between two secret cult rival groups – the Aye and Eiye cult groups.

    “During the process the manager was killed inside the hotel.

    “It was not an armed robbery incident. The corpse has been deposited at the Bénin Central Hospital, Mortuary.

    “Our detectives are still investigating the incident,” he added.

  • Super Eagles striker Musa acquires 2019 Mercedes Benz V class [Photo]

    Super Eagles striker Musa acquires 2019 Mercedes Benz V class [Photo]

    Super Eagles’ striker Ahmed Musa has added another new whip to his garage after purchasing the 2019 Mercedes Benz V class worth N31 million naira.

    The 26-year-old was not the one that announced the arrival of the new Benz, but a friend who congratulated the Nigeria international.

    Ahmed Musa’s friend known as Mompha tagged the Super Eagles star on social media to the photo of the new car in which he replied to the message with: ” thank you very much Mompha.”

    See post:

    https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt0vycOgRIm/

  • I miss playing for Super Eagles – Victor Moses

    Former Nigeria international Victor Moses has stated that he misses playing for the Super Eagles.

    The 28-year-old announced his shocking retirement from the Nigerian national team after the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

    Moses has however stated in a report to the Turkish media that he misses Nigerian supporters cheering him on whenever he put on the green and white.

    He said, “I feel love here and the fans are really pushing me. Not so different like when I play for Nigeria. I miss playing for Nigeria ‎as making the fans happy is our goal as a team. Same as here with Fenerbahce.”

    Moses who is on an 18-month loan deal at Fenerbahce from Premier League giants Chelsea has been linked to a return to the national team set up with Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president Amaju Pinnick stating that there are talks to ongoing between the two parties.

    Moses struggled to displace forwards Eden Hazard, Willain, Pedro and youngster Callum Hudson-Odoi under Maurizio Sarri has revitalised his career in Turkey.

    The Nigerian forward who scored his first goal for Fenerbahce in his second outing stated that he is enjoying the supporter from his new team comparing the atmosphere to when playing for Nigeria.

  • AFCON: Super Eagles have no superstars, says Gernot Rohr

    AFCON: Super Eagles have no superstars, says Gernot Rohr

    Super Eagles head coach , Gernot Rohr has said that there are no superstar players in his current squad ahead of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

    He added that the team must play as a unit to be successful at the tournament in Egypt.

    Speaking with TV Continental yesterday, Rohr, a former Bayern Munich defender, argued his point by declaring that no Nigeria international was included in Africa’s finest XI at the 2018 CAF Awards.

    He said: ‘’Since the World Cup the team changed, we invited some new young players who did very well, we have players who are playing in Europe, we have players who are playing in big teams.

    ‘’We don’t have big stars in our team, you see none of our players was in the African Team of the Year, we don’t have these players who Nigeria had in the past.

    ‘’Our strength is playing collective football with good spirit. Let’s work with this kind of spirit all the time and we’ll be ready by the 15th of June.’’

    Ahmed Musa, Obi Mikel, Emmanuel Emenike, Junior Ajayi, Joseph Yobo, Taye Taiwo and Vincent Enyeama have been included in CAF Team of the Year in the past.

  • Super Eagles captain Mikel Obi escapes plane crash

    Super Eagles captain Mikel Obi escapes plane crash

    Super Eagles captain and Middlesbrough midfielder, John Mikel Obi has escaped a plane crash.

    Mikel and the other Middlesbrough players were at risk, as the club had to call off their flight home from Newport County as the plane was grounded due to engine failure.

    Footballlive.mg reports that Mikel was among the Middlesbrough players.

    The officials of the English Championship club called off a flight that would have taken the squad for their next league fixture.

    Mikel and other members were forced to about-turn on the Cardiff Airport runway, following their 2-0 FA Cup defeat to League Two, Newport County.

    They then re-boarded the team bus and returned to Middlesbrough by road, meaning the team did not return until 7am, with the players having to sleep on the way home.

  • Flying Eagles have qualities to replace Super Eagles – Chukwu

    Flying Eagles have qualities to replace Super Eagles – Chukwu

    Christian Chukwu, former coach of the Super Eagles, on Tuesday said that the current squad of Flying Eagles possessed the right qualities to replace the Super Eagles in the future.

    Chukwu, who made the assertion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, described the performance of the Flying Eagles as “exceptional” in their match against South Africa in the ongoing AFCON U-20 tournament.

    He, however, pointed out that the team’s finishing should be worked on ahead of their next encounter, saying the improvement in their scoring abilities would make them the team hard to beat during the tournament.

    “The Flying Eagles I see playing in Niger Republic are good as future Super Eagles.

    “What the coach needs to work on now very seriously is finishing,” Chukwu said.

    The former Green Eagles captain also urged the players to embrace team work during their match against the host country, Niger Republic which is their last group match.

    NAN reports that the Flying Eagles will have to play their final group game before they can be assured of a place in the semi-finals of the ongoing U-20 Africa Cup of Nations.

    Qualification for the semi-finals enables a national team to pick up one of the four tickets for the World Cup.

    The Coach Paul Aigbogun-tutored side were held to a barren draw by South Africa on Tuesday at the Seyni Koutche Stadium in Niamey.

    The situation as it is, means the Flying Eagles’ qualification for the World Cup and the semi-finals of the tournament is still hanging in the balance.

    The Flying Eagles had won their first game 2-0 against Burundi and they had been tagged as the favourite against the Amajita of South Africa.

    South Africa had played a 1-1 draw against host Niger in their group opener; hence they needed a good result to stay in contention.

    In Tuesday’s second group game, the Flying Eagles dominated the early exchanges and contained South Africa effectively.

    The duo of Maxwell Effiong and Nazifi Yahaya, who both scored in Sunday’s game against Burundi, posed a constant threat to South Africa. But goalkeeper of the Amajita did well to maintain a clean sheet throughout the match.

    In the second half, the Flying Eagles continued their dominance as South Africa defended stoutly to earn a share of the spoils and thus allow World Cup qualification to go to the wire.

    Nigeria still sits on top of Group A with four points while South Africa have two points. Niger Republic and Burundi are set to play each other in the other group game.

    Amajita will face Burundi in their final Group A clash on Friday evening and Flying Eagles will take on the host nation Niger.

    The Flying Eagles still have their destiny in their own hands as they only need to avoid defeat in their last game against hosts Niger to ensure qualification for the semi-finals of the competition.

    NAN

  • AFCON: Super Eagles coach Rohr insists Mikel still has big role to play

    AFCON: Super Eagles coach Rohr insists Mikel still has big role to play

    Super Eagles head coach Gernot Rohr has stated clearly that Mikel Obi has an important role to play for Nigeria at the 2019 African Cup of Nations.

    Mikel has not played any game for Nigeria since the Super Eagles were sent out of the 2018 FIFA World Cup at the Group stage in Russia.

    The former Chelsea star recently completed a move to English Championship side Middlesbrough where he is expected to be until the end of the ongoing season.

    And while reacting to his move to Boro after spending two years at Chinese club Tianjin Teda, Rohr said Mikel must demonstrate his fitness ahead of the 2019 Nations Cup.

    ‘’We need good players, we need experience, we need the Captain in good fitness so he can bring something to the team.

    ’’We already have good players, it is a competition, nobody has his starting place guaranteed even Mikel has to fight.

    ‘Perhaps he can come and not start the game also, you know this. All is possible, the best one will play.

    ‘’His experience again is very important and to be respected as a team if you play international tournaments or very important games,” Gernot Rohr explained.

    Mikel Obi has played at the 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2013 African Cup of Nations championship for the Super Eagles.

  • Super Eagles to know 2019 AFCON opponents April 12

    Super Eagles to know 2019 AFCON opponents April 12

    Three-time champions Nigeria will know their group phase opponents at the 32nd Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals on April 12.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that April 12 has now been approved by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for the staging of the competition’s draw.

    The draw ceremony, due to hold at Cairo in Egypt, will see the 24 qualified teams drawn into six groups of four teams each.

    At the competition, the two top-placed teams in each group, alongside the best four third-placed teams, will progress to the Round of 16.

    The competition, which will hold in Egypt, will be the first 24-team AFCON in history.

    The matches are due to be played in eight venues between June 21 and July 19.

    Nigeria’s Super Eagles have already made sure of a place in the finals, ahead of the final round of the qualifying matches scheduled for late March.

    Nigeria host Seychelles at the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba on March 23, needing virtually nothing other than keeping pride in tact in the match.

    NAN

  • Super Eagles coach Rohr speaks on Moses return

    Super Eagles Coach, Gernot Rohr on Wednesday said that the door of the team was still open for the team’s ace winger, Victor Moses, but he must show commitment and fight for shirt.

    Rohr made the comment on the sidelines of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) Match Day 4 between MFM FC and Rangers International FC of Enugu.

    On Moses comeback to the team after announcing his premature retirement after the World Cup in Russia, Rohr said he appreciated Moses’s quality as a winger.

    Super Eagles Coach, Gernot Rohr on Wednesday said that the door of the team was still open for the team’s ace winger, Victor Moses, but he must show commitment and fight for shirt.

    Rohr made the comment on the sidelines of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) Match Day 4 between MFM FC and Rangers International FC of Enugu.

    On Moses comeback to the team after announcing his premature retirement after the World Cup in Russia, Rohr said he appreciated Moses’s quality as a winger.

    “Victor Moses is a player with lots of quality but stopped playing for the National team after the World Cup. We have to respect his decision not to play again.

    “If he wants to come back to the team, it is okay but he must show a lots of motivation, he must show that he is fit to play for the team because we have other players playing well in his position now.

    “Moses has to be strong to come back to the team because we have more options on the wings now like Samuel Kalu, Samuel Chukwueze, Alex Iwobi and Ahmed Musa. All these players are on his wings.

    “Victor Moses comeback is a good news for us,” he said.