AFCON
Egypt’s Salah To Return To Liverpool After Cup Of Nations Injury –
Mohamed Salah will return to Liverpool for treatment on his hamstring injury but only after watching Egypt complete their group fixtures at the Africa Cup of Nations finals when they meet Cape Verde Islands in Abidjan on Monday.
The Egypt Football Association (EFA) confirmed he will continue his treatment at his club as Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp had suggested earlier on Sunday following their 4-0 Premier League win at Bournemouth.
Egypt, however, still hope Salah could play a role at the tournament.
“We are hoping to catch him in the semi-finals of the Africa Nations Cup in case of qualification,” the EFA said in a statement.
It is still not clear how long Salah will be out after pulling up with the hamstring injury before halftime in their clash against Ghana on Thursday but Klopp said: “However long he is out, I think probably everybody sees that it makes sense that he is doing the rehab with us or with our people.
On whether Salah could feature again for Egypt during the tournament at the Cote d’Ivoire Klopp said: “I’m not a doctor. I would say if Egypt qualify for the final and he is fit before the final then probably yes. Why not?”
Salah spoke to reporters earlier on Sunday but did not offer more on his injury.
“My injury is still there but the most important thing now is to speak about the game,” he told a press conference ahead of the Cape Verde game.
“Our primary goal is to secure qualification for the next round, with skilled players, a good coach and a clear vision.
“We’re fully committed to giving our best in the tournament and we just need to fight and see what will happen,” he added of the game with Cape Verde, who despite being the smallest country at the finals have already secured top place in the group.
Salah also spoke about the fact he has yet to win a trophy with Egypt, having twice been a runner-up at the Cup of Nations.
“I have won everything possible but not this one yet. It will happen somehow, that is what I believe, and whatever I believe I achieve, so sooner or later it will happen.
“Everybody knows what it means to any player to win an Africa Cup. We were unlucky at the last one and also in Gabon. The players are very motivated to win the tournament. We all want to win it.”
Salah, who has 96 caps, was in the side that lost to Cameroon in the 2017 decider in Gabon and again at the last edition in Cameroon two years ago, where Senegal edged them on post-match penalties.
-Reuters
The on-going CAF AFCON Cote d’Ivoire 2023 Coaches Symposium in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire has brought together, the last three coaches that handled the Nigeria national football team.
Gernot Rohr, Jose Peseiro and Austin Eguavoen are part of the the elite coaches currently gathered in Abidjan.
Gernot Rohr whose tenure of 5 years and 55 matches is the longest ever by any coach in Nigeria, is currently handling Nigeria’s Africa Cupof Nations and World Cup qualifying rivals, Benin Republic. He was succeeded in the interim by Austin Eguavoen who is currently having another interim stint.
Peseiro left his position after the Africa Cup of Nations
The goalless outing of Rwanda and Nigeria in Tuesday’s Africa Cup of Nations’ qualifying match has thrown up some lessons, according to New Times, the leading newspaper in Rwanda.
New Times reckons that both teams put up a great show as Amavubi showed their pedigree against one of the giants in African football. It then pointed out the five elements that shaped the game.
Amavubi played with total confidence
No African country comes close to Nigeria in terms of “big players” country. Almost all their players are playing for top clubs in Europe’s top leagues but that did not deter Frank Spittler’s men.
They played with total confidence and self-belief. At a point in the game, Rwanda and APR FC left-back Claude Niyomugabo was mesmerizing former Chelsea and Lazio player Ola Aina who is now with Nottingham forest to the point that he was booked his jersey when he couldn’t match his pace.
Confidence among Rwandan players was high and it helped them to get goalless draw results.
Bizimana, the midfield controller
The Amavubi skipper pocketed Nigerian midfield led by Wilfred Ndidi. He run a one-man show in the middle of the pitch as he was unplayable.
His passes and tackles were superb. He track-backed several times as deep as his own penalty box to win balls.
Lookman’s danger left Rwandan defense shaking
Victor Osimhen is arguably Nigeria’s star man but it is clear that Ademola Lookman is the most dangerous player in the team.
He could hold on the ball, dribble, shoot and pass. The Atalanta winger was the best player for the visitors as he gave Amavubi a tough time before being substituted in the 89th minute for Taiwo Awoniyi.
Amavubi’s attacking problem
“The only problem with my team is in attack. You could see the difference between my attackers and the Nigerian attackers but that is what we have now. Maybe it is the Nigerian attackers who should have played against the Nigerian defenders. We created some chances but couldn’t score.”
These were some of the comments made by Amavubi head coach Torsten Spittler in the post-match press conference.
Rwanda looked solid both at the back and in midfield but the likes of Innocent Nshuti and Gilbert Mugisha weren’t up to the task in attack.
They wasted three good chances that could have resulted in goals.
Goal scoring is a problem for Amavubi and Spittler is ready to find an antidote. The German gaffer was, however, happy that his team was able to create chances which is a sign of improvement.
Fiacre Ntwari’s heroics
The Amavubi shot stopper was the hero of the day for Rwanda, and he has showed why he is among the best goalkeepers in Africa now.
Against a rampaging Nigerian attack of Victor Boniface, Osimhen, Lookman, Awoniyi and Samuel Chukwueze among others, Ntwari pulled as many as nine superb saves to keep his side in the game.
The Kaizer Chiefs shot stopper was very cool in the posts as he prevented the Nigerian attackers from scoring.
Ntwari, is gradually carving a niche for himself and he is proving to be a key component of the Amavubi set up.
BY KUNLE SOLAJA
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has clarified the position of interim manager of the Super Eagles, Austin Eguavoen. “He is still in charge”, the NFF Head of Communications, Ademola Olajire told Sports Village Square, this Wednesday.
Austin Eguavoen who is the Technical Director at the NFF was drafted to handle the Super Eagles when the negotiation with Germany’s Bruno Labbadia broke down. Eguavoen, a former Super Eagles player and later coach was drafted to rescue the situation.
It was claimed that having executed the Super Eagles’ immediate assignments, his job was done. But the NFF spokesman has clarified that nothing has changed from the initial announcement concerning Eguavoen.
“He remains with the team and his is an employee of the NFF which has drafted him to the Super Eagles. He remains there until the federation takes another decision.
“He was surprised when we landed from our Kigali trip and I showed the trending news on the social media.”
The Super Eagles’ next assignment will be on MatchDay 3 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers next month when the team hosts Libya in Uyo.
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