AFCON
SUPER EAGLES WILL FLOP AT AFCON, SAYS FORMER DR CONGO CAPTAIN
While not ruling out the possibility of the Nigeria Super Eagles picking a ticket for the Africa Cup of Nations 2021 that has been rescheduled for 2022, former DR Congo captain, Gabriel Zakuani believes the team will be a flop at final tournament scheduled for Cameroon.
Zakuani is quoted by BBC as saying that the Nigerian side is more or less a struggling outfit not capable of winning the competition.
To him, the Super Eagles will merely make up the numbers.
“I feel like it has come too soon for them to win it. [It’s time] for them to just be there, compete and then push on again.”
Although the Super Eagles are atop of the Group L log and are favourites to pick a ticket alongside their western neighbours, Benin Republic, all the four teams in the qualifying group still have arithmetical chances of qualifying.
The basis of Zakuani’s verdict on the Super Eagles is the team’s inconsistent form. In direct reference to their last home match against Sierra Leone in Benin City, Zakuani told the special edition of BBC’s Sport Africa TV programme:
“At this moment, I don’t quite feel they are ready because champions will not give away four-goal leads, so I don’t expect them to win.”
The qualifying tournament for the Africa Cup of Nations will be concluded later this month. The Super Eagles will be away to Benin Republic before playing their last qualifying match against Lesotho in Lagos.
Nigeria currently top Group L on eight points, one ahead of Benin while Sierra Leone have three points and Lesotho two.
While Zakuani has blamed a lack of consistency in the Super Eagles and insisted upon a need for a settled side, Nigeria forward Alex Iwobi is trying to focus on what is going well.
“The positive you can take is we are still on course to be top of the table, so we are confident we have the quality to do so and put 100% for 90 minutes this time, so we can qualify,” the Everton star told BBC Sport Africa.
“The opportunity I was given last time to be involved in that competition, I want that feeling again,” he said of his 2019 Nations Cup experience, where Nigeria finished third.
“If you are in a competition you want to win it, [and] I believe us players feel we have the quality to do so. We’d like to play in the best competitions and win them, so we have to prove that against Lesotho and Benin.”
Alongside Nigeria, the Beninois – who reached the quarter-finals two years ago – are favourites to clinch one of the two qualifying places.
“Since the Nations Cup, we have had some very good results – we have beaten Cote d’Ivoire [and] Gabon [in friendlies],” 32-year-old Benin international Emmanuel Imorou told BBC Sport Africa.
“Even during our qualifiers, we have put on some great displays. We are better, if we compare to my debut, in terms of structure, organisation, equipment – it is starting to look like something good.
“We are a team with a great bond. We don’t have clashes, we get along and I think it’s important – in the crucial games, it helps us.”
While Nigeria and Benin were at the last Nations Cup, Sierra Leone were last there in 1996 while Lesotho are seeking a maiden qualification.
The Libyan Football Federation (LFF) has sacked its Serbian coach, Milutin Sredojević who is popularly known as Micho.
This is coming ahead of Libya’s back-to-back Africa Cup of Nations clashes with Nigeria next month.
Paradoxically, Sports Village Square gathered that the coach’s contract was only recently renewed for six months before the axe fell on the Serbian.
His sack was precipitated by the results obtained in their teo matches of the AFCON qualifiers.
Libya drew 1-1 with Rwanda at home and lost 2-1 away to Benin Republic despite beig a goal up at half time.
The Libyan side, Mediterranean Knights are due to play against the Nigeria Super Eagles in Uyo on 6 October while the return leg holds on 14 October at the 11 July Stadium in Tripoli.
According to information Sports Village Square gathered from Tripoli, the Mediterranean Knights’ coach, Micho led the Libyan national team to win nine matches since taking over in October of last year, he failed to build a strong team due to his poor choices.
He also took a risk with the footballers chosen in the AFCON qualifiers, and the result was shocking to the Libyan sports audience.
According to sources close to the Libyan Football Federation, there is a strong tendency to sign a national coach to lead the Libyan team during the remaining qualifiers for the African Cup of Nations.
CAF President Patrice Motsepe has lashed out at Ghana and some other African countries whose home grounds were recently banned from hosting CAF matches owing to inadequate facilities. He made the remarks in Nairobi, Kenya during a press conference,
After the MatchDay 2 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, CAF ruled Ghana’s Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi as being inadequate to host international matches. Being the only approved ground in the country, Ghana will now look towards either Cote d’Ivoire or Togo for their remaining home matches of the Afcon qualifiers.
Other African countries without approved home grounds are: Djibouti, Chad, Niger, Eritrea, Gabon, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, São Tomé and Burundi.
Motsepe voiced his frustration over the recurring issue of nations being unable to host home games.
“Nothing frustrates me more than a national team or club side having to play home matches outside,” he stated.
He stressed the significance of playing in front of home fans, adding, “You can’t grow football if the national teams or club sides aren’t playing in front of their home fans.”
Motsepe reiterated CAF’s commitment to working with countries to ensure they have at least one suitable stadium to host international fixtures.
“Our conversations in every country are to make sure there is at least one stadium capable of hosting a CAF category C game,” he emphasized.
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
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