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Tag: Super Eagles

  • AFCON 2023: Retirement not on my mind – Super Eagles captain, Ahmed Musa

    AFCON 2023: Retirement not on my mind – Super Eagles captain, Ahmed Musa

    Super Eagles captain, Ahmed Musa has said that he will not disclose when he will retire from the national team.

    Musa made this known while speaking at the AFCON pre-match press conference between the Super Eagles of Nigeria and the Nzalang of Equatorial Guinea.

    Asked if AFCON 2023 will be his last tournament, Musa said that only time will tell if he would retire  soon or not.

    The 31-year-old forward assured that he alongside his teammate would give their best to ensure that Super Eagles defeat their opponent in tomorrow’s game.

    Super Eagles will begin their campaign in the 2023 AFCON against the Zlalang of Equatorial guinea on Sunday January 14th  by 3pm Nigerian time.

     

  • AFCON 2023: Just like Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire hit by injury worries

    AFCON 2023: Just like Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire hit by injury worries

    Cote d’Ivoire Head Coach, Jean-Louis Gasset has ruled out striker Sebastian Haller from Saturday’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) opener against Guinea Bissau, due to ankle injury.

    Gasset disclosed this on Friday in Abidjan at a news conference, ahead of their opening match of the tournament.

    The gaffer added that the availability of the Borussia Dortmund striker for their second Group A game against Nigeria was also doubtful, as he continues to recover from the injury.

    He said there were also fitness concerns for forward Nicolas Pepe, who was recently recalled to the squad, as he’s also struggling with a knee injury.

    “Pepe played 30 minutes in last Saturday’s friendly (a 5-1 win over Sierra Leone), but is still not fully fit.

    “He suffered a knee injury at Trabzonspor in December (2023) and we have been bringing him along slowly,” he explained.

    Pepe plays in the same club with Super Eagles Paul Onuachu,  who was drafted as a late replacement for injured striker Sadiq Umar on Friday.

    Gasset had never been to the continent before taking the job, but 20 months on from his appointment, he has been charged with winning the AFCON for the home nation.

    Gasset, with extensive Ligue 1 experience and formerly an assistant coach of France under Laurent Blanc, said it had been both a swift learning experience and an exciting challenge, which he relishes.

    “I want to savour the event and appreciate the environment and the experience.

    “We feel the pressure, but I don’t think it’s an additional pressure. My objective is to turn this pressure into something positive, a drive to give us confidence.

    “This pressure has a very good aspect to it and we must take advantage of it, and this is the message I’ve been giving my squad,” he said.

    Gasset warned, however, of the quality of Guinea Bissau players, who were yet to win a game at the finals and are 103rd in the FIFA rankings, 54 places below the Ivorians.

    “We want to start well but with due respect to our opponents, who are very dangerous at counter attacks, we need to dominate the game.

    “They have beaten Nigeria in the qualifiers and we know they have good players especially Mama Balde, who now plays at Lyon,” the coach said.

    Nigeria has already made three forced changes to their squad due to injury.

    The injured trio of Wilfred Ndidi, Victor Boniface and Sadiq Umar have been replaced by Alhassan Yusuf, Terem Moffi and Paul Onuachu, respectively.

    The Super Eagles open their campaign against Equatorial Guinea on Sunday, followed by a clash with hosts

    Cote D’Ivoire on Jan. 18, and will end the group campaign with Guinea-Bissau on Jan. 22.

  • 2023 AFCON: Iheanacho, Moffi expected on Saturday, Umar out

    2023 AFCON: Iheanacho, Moffi expected on Saturday, Umar out

    Super Eagles forward Kelechi Iheanacho and Terem Moffi are expected to team up with the rest of the squad ahead of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cote d’Ivoire on Saturday and Sunday respectively.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Iheanacho would arrive a day before Nigeria’s first match against Equatorial Guinea, even as Real Sociedad forward, Sadiq Umar has been ruled out of the tournament.

    Meanwhile, Moffi who was a last-minute replacement for Victor Boniface is expected to join the squad on Sunday.

    The AFCON which kicks off on Saturday with a game between Nigeria’s Group A foes – hosts Cote d’Ivoire and Guinea-Bissau – will hold till Feb. 11.

    Super Eagles Media officer, Babafemi Raji, told NAN that both players were not part of the team’s second training session in Abidjan on Thursday.

    Iheanacho was initially expected to have travelled with the team to Cote d’Ivoire from Lagos on Wednesday.

    “Iheanacho will join us on Saturday and Moffi on Sunday,” Raji told NAN.

    Meanwhile, Umar, who is in Abidjan, did not train with the rest of the squad on Thursday, as he jogged alone on the sidelines, while Peseiro and his crew worked with the remaining 22 of the final 25 men.

    This was after the Real Sociedad striker suffered a knee injury in the aftermath of their warm up friendly with Guinea in Abu Dhabi, and will now be out of action for at least three weeks.

    NAN also reports that Nigeria’s injury list has been growing since the Portuguese coach named his final 25-man squad.

    Leicester midfielder, Wilfred Ndidi, was the first to be ruled out and was replaced by Antwerp’s Alhassan Yusuf, while red-hot Bayer Leverkusen man, Victor Boniface, also picked up a groin injury before the end of the team’s one-week training camp in Abu Dhabi.

    With Boniface and Umar now out, Peseiro only has reigning African Player of The Year, Victor Osimhen, as the only fit striker.

    However, a post on the team’s official X handle (formerly twitter) on Friday confirmed that Trabzonspor of Turkey gangling striker Paul Onuachu will now replace the injured Sadiq.

    Nigeria, who won the AFCON in 1980, 1994 and 2013, are in Group A with hosts Cote d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea and Guinea-Bissau.

    The three-time African champions will begin their quest for a fourth title on Sunday against Equatorial Guinea, before facing Cote d’Ivoire Jan. 18, while the last group game is against Guinea-Bissau on Jan. 22.

  • AFCON 2023: Super Eagles first match in Côte d’Ivoire very critical – Sports Minister

    AFCON 2023: Super Eagles first match in Côte d’Ivoire very critical – Sports Minister

    Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Enoh has charged the Super Eagles of Nigeria to win their first match of the 2023 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Côte d’Ivoire.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Senator Enoh gave the charge while stressing on the critical nature of the first match of the Super Eagles in Group A against Equatorial Guinea.

    Super Eagles open their campaign against Equatorial Guinea on Sunday, followed by a mouth-watering clash with hosts Cote D’Ivoire on January 18, ending the group campaign with Guinea-Bissau on January 22.

    Enoh stressed the Super Eagles encounter with Equatorial Guinea will go a long way to determine how the Nigerian national team will fare in the 2023 AFCON.

    “It is very critical for the Super Eagles to win our first match on Sunday. The outcome will have a lot of implications,” Senator Enoh said during an interactive session with journalists, following a technical session with sports federation presidents in Abuja on Thursday.

    Enoh added: “Every match in the tournament is as critical as the first encounter. It is a tournament. That first match is taking place on Sunday.

    “I expect us to have a win. That win will send a clear signal as to our intentions, as to the reason why we are in Côte d’Ivoire, and to the fact that we are there to win”.

    Speaking on the outcome of the meeting with sports federation presidents and secretaries, the Sports Minister disclosed that an agreement was reached to put together a technical team to develop funding models to proffer solutions to the challenge of funding for sports in the country.

    “The funding issues have been there. When I say the problems of sports, which have been there for the past 30 years, are still the same problems we are talking about, all of them boil down to funding.

    “If you look at the various sporting federations as they are, and the various funding needs, it is not sustainable for sports to depend fully on the government.

    “One of the outcomes of the technical session is agreement to put together a technical team, comprising the sports federation presidents and the ministry to work for new funding models that are going to be sustainable.

    “A lot of the sports are going to Egypt for the Olympics qualifiers. That is because Egypt is doing something right. The way we can achieve what Egypt is doing is first to achieve a sustainable funding model that gets us to get the sports problems solved,” Enoh said.

  • AFCON: Representing Nigeria is now an all comers affair – Omokaro

    AFCON: Representing Nigeria is now an all comers affair – Omokaro

    Bright Omokaro, ex-Nigerian international, says representing Nigeria in the Africa Nation’s Cup (AFCON) has now become an all comers’ affair, where benched players in their foreign clubs are making the Super Eagles team.

    He said this was unlike his playing days in the 1970’s, when it was tough to dorn the Nigerian jersey.

    Omokaro said this in Lagos on Thursday, when asked to assess the Super Eagles level of preparedness ahead of Saturday’s Côte D’Ivoire tournament.

    The tournament is scheduled to last till Feb. 11.

    “It is sad that we have a handful of players who are not first choice players in their respective teams, and they are representing Nigeria at the Nations Cup; this is very unfortunate.

    ” The easiest way to get into the Super Eagles these days is to just play for any foreign club, it could be a third tier division, it doesn’t matter as long as you’re regarded as a foreign player.

    “In my days the likes of John Fasanu know they have to go through the extra mile and work extra hard to get into the Super Eagles squad.

    “If you dorn the Nigerian jersey, you have obviously proven yourself to be worthy,” he said.

    Omokaro, a dreadful defender in his playing days, said the exclusion of home based players was disturbing.

    ” I thought we’ve gotten past this. I don’t know if it’s possible for it to be law in Nigeria that every team should have at least 40 per cent of home based players.

    “By so doing, we’re consciously developing our football. I know times have changed but if it worked for our football then, we should consider it,” he said.

    Super Eagles, three-time champions of the tournament: 1980, 1994, and 2013, hope to win the trophy for the fourth time when the tournament kicks off on Saturday.

     

  • BREAKING: Super Eagles land Côte d’Ivoire in grand style for 2023 AFCON

    BREAKING: Super Eagles land Côte d’Ivoire in grand style for 2023 AFCON

    The Super Eagles of Nigeria on Wednesday landed in grand style in Abidjan, ahead of the commencement of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Côte d’Ivoire.

    The team, in all-white traditional kaftan uniform with green cap to match, touched down at the Félix-Houphouët-Boigny International Airport, Abidjan, aboard a chartered flight.

    They were welcomed by fans, who hailed and justled to take pictures with them.

    Earlier, the team was hosted to a send-forth dinner by Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos on Tuesday, after they arrived from Abu Dhabi,

    where they had a week-long pre-tournament training.

    In Abidjan, the team will be lodged at the prestigious Pullman Hotel, as members prosecute their group campaign.

    The full compliment of the 25-man team of players and officials are on the entourage, except strikers Kelechi Iheanacho

    and Terem Moffi, who will join the team later.

    Iheanacho had just recovered from a muscular injury sustained at Leicester City FC, while Moffi, a late replacement for injured

    Victor Boniface, will join after he has played a Ligue 1 game on Saturday against Rennes.

    The Super Eagles open their campaign against Equatorial Guinea on Sunday, followed by a mouth-watering clash with hosts Côte D’Ivoire on January 18, and end the group campaign with Guinea-Bissau on January 22.

  • AFCON 2023: Lagos Governor, Sanwo-Olu hosts Super Eagles to a dinner night

    AFCON 2023: Lagos Governor, Sanwo-Olu hosts Super Eagles to a dinner night

    Lagos state governor, , Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Tuesday night hosted the Super Eagles of Nigeria to  a send forth dinner before departing for Côte d’Ivoire for the 2023 African Cup of Nations (AFCON).

    The team arrived at the State House in Marina about 10pm on Tuesday night shortly after arriving from Abu Dhabi training base in the United Arab Emirates.

    The Super Eagles players  were in high spirits, dressed in tops inscribed with the slogan ‘Let’s do it again’.

    Chairman of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Ibrahim Gusau, former player,  Segun Odegbami, among other board members of the NFF, were on hand to welcome the team with the governor.

    Coach Paseiro and other members of the technical team were also in the entourage.

    However, Kelechi Iheanacho was absent. but findings show that himself and new invite, Terem Moffi will join the rest of the team in Cote D’Ivoire.
    Super Eagles are expected to land in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire on Wednesday (Today) .
  • Super Eagles coach opens up on Iheanacho’s fitness for AFCON 2023

    Super Eagles coach opens up on Iheanacho’s fitness for AFCON 2023

    Super Eagles Coach, Jose Peseiro, says Kelechi Iheanacho is now fully fit to play for the team at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Côte d’Ivoire.

    Paseiro said this in an interview with reporters in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, late on Monday.

    “Kelechi will be with us in Cote d’Ivoire. He has finished his treatment at Leicester City,” he said.

    Peseiro was quoted as saying that Iheanacho would now join the rest of the Super Eagles squad for the AFCON after completing his treatment for a muscular injury.

    Iheanacho had been sidelined due to injury and was not part of the team’s week-long training camp in Abu Dhabi.

    The Leicester City striker stayed at his club to recover fully for the AFCON, which kicks off on Saturday in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

    Super Eagles, the three-time champions, are expected to depart for Cote d’Ivoire on Wednesday to participate in the 34th AFCON finals after attending a special dinner to be hosted by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in Lagos on Tuesday (today).

    The month-long AFCON tournament begins on Feb. 11 with the Super Eagles expected to kickoff their campaign against Equatorial Guinea at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan.

    Super Eagles can win another AFCON title, football enthusiasts say

    Meanwhile, some football enthusiasts have expressed optimism over Super Eagles’ ability to win the 2023 AFCON scheduled to hold in Cote d’Ivoire between Jan. 13 and  Feb. 11.

    The enthusiasts, who spoke in Enugu on Tuesday, said that the Eagles would win the trophy if the players and the technical crew play their roles well.

    Coach Christian Oduma, Chairman, Enugu State Grassroots Managers Association, said that he expected the Super Eagles to win the continental trophy.

    Oduma urged the handlers of the team to choose players based on current performance, form and fitness.

    “They have all it takes to win the tournament; all they need is to play as a team.

    ‘”The technical crew also needs to be very tactical, this is not a time to choose players based on names or previous records,” he said

    Also speaking, the Chairman, Rangers Supporters Club, Dr Uchenna Orji, said that Nigerians were expecting an excellent outing from the national team at the tournament.

    “The players we are taking to AFCON cannot afford to get anything less than the trophy.

    “They are professionals playing for clubs abroad and getting results, so, we expect them to play well for Nigeria.

    “They are capable of winning the trophy for Nigeria because they have the capacity and motivation to do so,” he said.

    Orji urged the team to put national pride and interest above all other considerations while representing the country at the tournament.

    An Enugu-based footballer, Chidera Pius, said that the team had been well-motivated and prepared for the competition.

    “So we expect nothing but excellent results, they should not underrate any team. They should play with focus and commitment,” he said.

    The Super Eagles are drawn in Group A alongside Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, and Equatorial Guinea.

    Nigeria won the nations cup in 1980, 1994 and 2013.

  • AFCON 2023: Super Eagles depart Abu Dhabi, expected in Lagos today

    AFCON 2023: Super Eagles depart Abu Dhabi, expected in Lagos today

    After few days of intense  training in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirate,  (UAE) the Super Eagles of Nigeria departed the Asian country for Lagos.

    The players and their officials will be hosted to a send forth dinner by Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Tuesday evening.

    The Eagles spent exactly  one week in Abu Dhabi as part of preparations for the forthcoming AFCON tournament billed for the west African country of Cote D’Ivoire.

    Jose Peseiro’s side engaged in two friendlies while in camp, thrashing local club, Al Gharib 12-0 before losing 2-0 to the Syli Stars of Guinea.

    The team will depart Lagos en route Abidjan on Wednesday.

    Super Eagles have been drawn in group A alongside host Cote D’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea and Guinea Bissau.

     

  • AFCON 2023: Guinea beat Nigeria’s Super Eagles 2-0 in Abu Dhabi

    AFCON 2023: Guinea beat Nigeria’s Super Eagles 2-0 in Abu Dhabi

    The Syli Stars of Guinea on Monday defeated the Super Eagles of Nigeria 2-0 in an International friendly game ahead of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

    The match took place  at the Banis Yas Stadium, Abu Dhabi, behind closed doors.

    The Syli Stars took the lead in the 14th minute of the encounter.

    The Super Eagles were awarded a penalty four minutes later when Umar Sadiq was hacked down inside the box but Super Eagles penalty taker, Moses Simon missed the resultant penalty.

    Nigeria went in search of the equaliser with Sadiq directing his header off target three minutes before the half hour mark.

    Samuel Chukwueze missed another chance three minutes before the break.

    Against the run of play, the Syli national utilized a counter-attacking error from the Eagles to double their advantage in the 64th minute.

    The Super Eagles will return to Lagos on Tuesday night where they will be hosted to a sendforth dinner by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

    Jose Peseiro’s side will depart for Abidjan on Wednesday and will play their first AFCON match agaonst Equatorial Guinea on Sunday, January 14.