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Tag: Super Eagles

  • Rohr releases Super Eagles list for AFCON qualifiers

    Rohr releases Super Eagles list for AFCON qualifiers

    Nigeria’s Head Coach, Gernot Rohr, on Friday released the list of players invited for the African Cup Of Nations qualifier coming up in Seychelles.

    The Nigeria Football Federation revealed the list on its Twitter handle, @thenff.

    The team includes:

    GOALKEEPERS: Francis Uzoho, Daniel Akpeyi, Ikechuwu Ezenwa
    DEFENDERS: Leon Balogun, William Troost-Ekong, Chidozie Awaziem, Bryan Idowu, Ola Aina, Jamilu Collins, Semi Ajayi, Kenneth Omeruo
    MIDFIELDERS: Wilfred Ndidi, Ogenyi Onazi, Joel Obi, John Ogu, Karo Etebo, Kelechi Nwakali
    FORWARDS: Ahmed Musa, Odion Ighalo, Simeon Nwankwo, Alex Iwobi, Henry Onyekuru, Samuel Kalu, Kelechi Iheanacho
    STANDBY: Uche Agbo, Stephen Eze, Blessing Eleke, Musa Mohammed

  • Ex-Super Eagles goalkeeper Idah welcomes a child after 10 years of marriage

    Former Super Eagles goalkeeper, Idah Peterside has finally welcomed a child following a decade of waiting for the fruit of the womb.

    The television pundit, who is also a pastor took to his Twitter page to express his joy as he revealed he’d waited for a decade and 21 days for him to finally have a child of his own.

    Sharing a photo of himself with his newborn, Peterside tweeted,

    ‘We give God the glory that after 10years 21 days of marriage God has finally blessed us with our first child.mother and baby are fine’.

    Idah Peterside was a Nigerian international football goalkeeper and is a media officer, television pundit and pastor. He retired from active football in 2002.

  • Victor Moses has the right to take decisions for himself – Christian Chukwu

    Christian Chukwu, former Super Eagles coach and captain, on Thursday said that the retirement of Nigerian born Chelsea player, Victor Moses, from international football was a matter of decision and not age.

    Chukwu told the News Agency of Nigeria that Moses knew about his body faculty more than any person.

    He said that the decision should be read from the player’s personal opinion and not from the age.

    “Victor Moses is a very vibrant and young player, so he has the right to take decisions for himself.

    “He knows his body more than any person, therefore, it is best known to him why he retired and we wish him well,’’ Chukwu said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Chelsea of England player announced a surprise international retirement.

    He did this in a series of Twitter posts and pictures citing his club career development and family as part of his reasons for the decision.

    The former Stoke City, Westham and Liverpool player, thanked Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr, the coaching staff, Nigerians and indeed the NFF for their support and opportunity given him while playing for the national team.

    Moses, 27, scored 12 goals in 37 appearances for the Super Eagles.

    Moses was instrumental in Super Eagles conquering of Africa in 2013, and represented the country in two World Cups – 2014 and 2018.

    No reactions have come out from NFF over this development.

    However, his Chelsea teammate, Eden Hazard, has wished him well in his future endeavours.

    Hazard twitted “Congratulations! You made your country proud’’.

    NAN

  • FIFA Ranking: Super Eagles slides to 49th position in the World, 7th in Africa

    FIFA Ranking: Super Eagles slides to 49th position in the World, 7th in Africa

    The Super Eagles of Nigeria have dropped from 48th to 49th in the latest FIFA Ranking released after the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

    The Nigeria national team dropped by one place in the FIFA rankings released just before the start of the World Cup and continued in the same trend in the last released by the World football governing body on Thursday, August 16.

    The Super Eagles drop can be traced to their poor performance at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

    The Super Eagles lost their first group game 2-0 to Croatia, then won their second group game against Iceland 2-0 thanks to heroics from Ahmed Musa.

    In their last group game against Argentina the Super Eagles narrowly lost 2-1 to a Lionel Messi inspired Argentina as they could not match their achievements of the 2014 FIFA World Cup where they progressed to the round of 16.

    The Super Eagles could not also win their two friendly matches in the month of July which ended in a 2-1 loss to England and 1-0 loss to the Czech Republic.

    The latest rankings released by FIFA also shows that the Super Eagles are now 49th in the World and 7th on the African continent.

     

    World Ranking

    The world champions lead the way under a new formula, with Joachim Low’s men dropping out of the top 10 along with Lionel Messi & Co.
    France won the World Cup in Russia and head FIFA’s new-look ranking.

    Les Bleus head up the list published by world football’s governing body, which features a new method of grading international teams.

    The new formula, per FIFA, “relies on adding/subtracting points won or lost for a game to/from the previous point totals rather than averaging game points over a given time period as in the previous version of the Ranking.

    “The changes, of which there are several, include the fact that inactive teams now preserve their point totals, with no devaluation of older games.

    “Points are dropped, however, from losing or drawing against weaker opposition, with the only exception to this rule matches in knockout rounds of major competitions such as the FIFA World Cup.”

    One such team that did not even manage to qualify for the knockout rounds of the tournament in Russia is Germany, who have dropped to 15th in the rankings, falling a staggering 14 places after crashing out of a group containing Mexico, Sweden, who are now ranked above them, and South Korea.

    Argentina fall to 11th after flattering to deceive on the grandest stage, with both teams now below England, who reached the semi-finals. Gareth Southgate’s men are now sixth.

    The top five consists of France, Belgium, Brazil, beaten finalists Croatia and Uruguay. The Three Lions, Portugal, Switzerland, Spain and Denmark make up the top 10.

    Hosts Russia, who sensationally eliminated Spain from the tournament on penalties, rise 21 places to 49th, making them the best mover within the rankings. Mohamed Salah’s Egypt, eliminated in the group stages, fall 20 places to 65th, the largest fall of any team.

     

  • Ahmed Musa reacts as Victor Moses retires from international football

    Ahmed Musa reacts as Victor Moses retires from international football

    Al-Nassr new boy, Ahmed Musa, has reacted to Victor Moses’s decision to retire from international football.

    Moses, in an Instagram post on Wednesday, explained that he will no longer feature for the Super Eagles but wants to focus on his family and Chelsea.

    Musa hailed the 27-year-old for his contribution and wished him good luck for the future.

    “It was a pleasure to play alongside such a great player.

    “You have served your nation well and will always be remembered.

    “Good luck in all you do @VictorMoses,” he wrote.

  • Super Eagles coach Rohr set to drop seven World Cup players for Sychelles clash

    Super Eagles coach Rohr set to drop seven World Cup players for Sychelles clash

    Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr, has hinted that about seven players who made the 23 man squad to the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia may not be invited for the AFCON qualifier against Seychelles billed for September 8, Completesport reports.

    Rohr who stayed back in Europe after the Eagles exited the World Cup in the first round, has evealed his plan to bring in some fringe players who could not make the world cup team, according to an official at the NFF secretariat in Abuja.

    “Coach Rohr has remained in Europe to monitor our players and scout some emerging stars with the view to capping them and he has also hinted at his plan to drop some world cup Eagles because of injuries, loss of form or for tactical reasons,” our source who requested anonymity told Completesportsnigefia.com in Abuja

    “He would have been here to submit his world cup report, but had to stay back because of the leadership tussle at the NFF, but all things being equal, Rohr may be in the country next week to submit his report and release his squad list for the Seychelles game in September”

    Completesports also gathered that Kelechi Nwakali who is on loan at Porto from Arsenal is among the new players to be called up, while Tyrone Ebuehi and skipper Mikel Obi may be dropped due to their injury situation . Joel Obi, Elderson Echiejile, and possibly Odion Ighalo and Ogenyi Onazi may be excluded to give new breeds a chance to grow.

  • Super Eagles midfielder Kelechi Nwakali joins FC Porto

    Super Eagles midfielder, has left Arsenal on a season-long loan deal, to sign for FC Porto.

    The Portuguese giants have an option to make the deal permanent in 12 months’ time.

    “My main goal is to develop and evolve as a player, to improve my qualities and the other aspects that I know I need to correct to grow in the way I play. I think FC Porto is the right place to evolve as a player.

    “I know Porto very well, because one of my idols always in football played here: Deco. He was a player that I loved to watch and I hope one day being able to meet him and tell him the importance he had in my desire to be a football player,” Nwakali said.

    Nwakali arrived in North London to much fanfare in 2016, having impressed at the U-17 World Cup the previous year.

    However the 20-year-old struggled to make a major impact either in the youth setup or out on loan, where he spent time with Dutch clubs VVV-Venlo and MVV Maastricht last season.

  • Super Eagles keeper gets first team spot at Deportivo

    Super Eagles keeper gets first team spot at Deportivo

    Super Eagles first choice goalkeeper at the Russia 2018 World Cup, Francis Uzoho has reportedly been assured first team place by his Spanish club, Deportivo La Coruna.

    The goakeeper is back in training with the relegated LaLiga side.

    Uzoho kept in all of Nigeria’s three games at the World Cup.

    He returned to training with Deportivo yesterday.

    According to OwnGoal, his club was keen on retaining his service as other clubs are making efforts to sign him following his performance in Russia for Nigeria.

    The sports outlet reports that Deportivo La Coruna have assured the 19-year-old that he will remain with the first team.

    He is also expected to challenge for the number one spot as opposed to last season when he was mainly used by the B team who are campaigning in the third division in Spain.

    Although he made two first team appearances in the LaLiga, he was more of a regular player with the B team last season.

  • Super Eagles’ early exit from World Cup still hurts – Balogun

    Super Eagles defender, Leon Balogun, is still haunted by the team’s early ouster from the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

    Gernot Rohr’s men failed to progress to the knockout round following a 2-1 defeat against Argentina in their last group game.

    The West Africans opened their account in Russia with a 2-0 loss to Croatia but bounced back to record a 2-0 win against Iceland in their second game.

    Balogun featured in all four games for the Super Eagles in Russia.

    “Better late than never, but never late is better. It’s been 2 weeks since this exciting journey has ended for my team and me. Reminiscing it’s still painful, I won’t lie. But life goes on and it gives you so many reasons to smile,” he wrote on Instagram page.

    “Meanwhile I turned 30 (thx for all the messages), am about to start a new chapter in Brighton and there will be a new world champion soon making their nation proud.

    “I will be forever grateful for this invaluable experience with the Super Eagles. So this is to say thank you to my team, the complete staff, to everyone who was part of this great journey and supported us. To Russia and its people for their great hospitality.

    “And last but not least, THANK YOU Nigeria for the endless support. It’s been a great honour representing you and we hope we could make you proud.
    We will continue to strive for greatness in the future so one day we can hopefully bring a trophy back home”.

  • Super Eagles will fear no team after World Cup exit – Rohr

    Super Eagles will fear no team after World Cup exit – Rohr

    Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr has revealed that the Super Eagles will suffer no more inferiority complex at the biggest stage following their exit from the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

    Rohr who signed a two-year contract extension last year – also praised the mood within the camp despite the exit.

    “I think the future is for Nigeria because the spirit is wonderful, big solidarity and you see in these difficult moments how great the spirit in the team is,” Rohr told BBC Sport.

    “What they learned is to be better in the beginning of the match.

    “We reacted well in all three matches in the second half, so our start must be better.

    “Also – we should have no complex now. We have seen that we can win against good teams like Iceland. We had some mistakes of youthfulness, like conceding penalties, but all the time the team is in this collective spirit and I like it.”

    Nigeria’s next competitive match comes in September when they play an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against the Seychelles.​