AFCON
Green Confident Eagles Will Pick World Cup, Afcon Tickets
Chairman of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Technical and Development Committee, Chris Green has expressed confidence that the Super Eagles will qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations championships, despite Saturday’s defeat by South Africa in Uyo.
The three –time African champions suffered a shock 2-0 reverse against the Bafana Bafana on Matchday 1 of the Cameroon 2019 qualifiers, and Nigeria now lie third in Group E, following Libya’s 5-1 defeat of Seychelles on Friday.
However, Green, a ranking member of the NFF Executive Committee, who held the same position when Nigeria won a third Africa Cup of Nations title in South Africa in 2013, played at the FIFA Confederations Cup and reached the Round of 16 at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, said there is no need to start pushing the panic button.
“It was not the result we worked or prayed for, but the truth is we have only lost one of six matches in the series, and this wake –up call has come at the right time.
“It has also come when we still have the opportunity to rectify things and prepare harder for the remaining matches of the FIFA World Cup qualifying race.
“Losing to South Africa was never in our calculation, but it has happened. Someone once said that when the going gets tough, the tough gets going.
“Now, everyone, including the technical crew and the players, know that we must work harder than we ever done, dig deeper than we have ever done and show the kind of commitment greater than we have ever shown in the two qualifying campaigns.”
Two second half goals by Tokelo Rantie and Percy Tau condemned Nigeria to a first –ever defeat by South Africa in a competitive game at senior level, but Green insisted the lessons have been learnt.
“There are so many things to take forward from this game. One of them is that this type of reverse must never happen to the Super Eagles again.
“But now, we have to focus squarely on the FIFA World Cup qualifiers because the race to the Cup of Nations would only resume in nine months’ time. In two-and-half months, we have classical World Cup battles with Cameroon. That is the only issue on our minds at the moment.”
Meanwhile, a meeting of the NFF Technical and Development Committee will take place at the NFF Secretariat, Abuja on Tuesday morning, with Super Eagles’ Technical Adviser, Gernot Rohr, in attendance.
Green said the issue of the battles with Cameroon in September is top of the agenda.
After commanding victories in the first leg matches of the Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco 2025, qualifiers, Chad, Liberia, and Eswatini find themselves in advantageous positions as they gear up for the return fixtures scheduled for Tuesday.
As the second leg of the preliminary fixtures approach, all eyes will be on these teams as they vie for their coveted spots in the group phase of the qualifiers, with the hopes of making their mark on the continental stage.
Chad emerged victorious with a narrow 1-0 win over Mauritius, joining Liberia and Eswatini in the lead after their impressive triumphs earlier last week.
Liberia secured a 2-0 victory against Djibouti, while Eswatini displayed their dominance with a 3-0 win over Somalia.
The second leg promises to be fiercely contested, particularly for Chad, who will face a challenging encounter against Mauritius on the latter’s home turf.
Coach Kevin Nicaise’s players are keen to defend their slender lead and secure their spot in the next phase of the qualifiers but the trainer admits they have an arduous task.
“We are far from perfect, far from being a top team in the world. We are in the construction phase. There are still things to work on and improve,” coach Nicaise said after their first-leg win.
“It is not overnight that we will be a top team in the world, we are aware of that, however we are working hard with the group and the staff to achieve this goal.”
Meanwhile, Liberia will host Djibouti, aiming to build on their first-leg success and seal their progression to the next round.
Eswatini will host Somalia with confidence, seeking to maintain their winning momentum and secure passage to the next stage of the tournament.
South Sudan and Sao Tome and Principe will also face off in what is expected to be a closely contested encounter, following their goalless draw in the first leg.
With both teams eager for victory, the match promises to be a thrilling battle for supremacy.
-CAF
Liberia and Eswatini took commanding leads in their respective Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco 2025, preliminary round ties after claiming impressive away victories on Wednesday.
Liberia captain Murphy Dorley scored one of two first-half goals as the Lone Stars defeated hosts Djibouti 2-0 in the opening leg in Marrakech.
Mohammed Sangare broke the deadlock from the penalty spot on 23 minutes before Dorley coolly slotted home Sebastian Teclar’s cross 12 minutes later.
Djibouti struggled to lay a glove on their more illustrious opponents as the Lone Star side kept them at bay to take two away goals into next week’s second leg in Monrovia.
Eswatini were also celebrating after demolishing Somalia 3-0 in the Moroccoan city of El Jadida to put one foot in the group stage qualifiers.
Striker Sabelo Ndzinisa was the hero, netting twice either side of Felicio Figuareido’s 40th minute opener for the visitors.
Somalia now face an uphill battle to qualify when they travel to the Mbombela Stadium in the South African city of Nelspruit for the return on March 26th.
The opening leg victories give Liberia and Eswatini a huge advantage heading into the second legs as they target a place in the group stage on the road to next year’s finals in Morocco.
Back from the locker room, Somalia still couldn’t play its game.
Worse, Eswatini widened the gap with Ginindza who scored his double of the evening in the 56th minute. 3-0, the score remained unchanged on the scoreboard until the final whistle.
Victory for Eswatini which will still have to perform in the return leg to ensure its qualification for the qualifiers.
Following last month’s grand closing to the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations held in Cote d’Ivoire where the hosts were crowned champions for the third time, Africa’s biggest competition is now shifting its focus to the 35th edition set to be held in Morocco next year.
A total of 52 Nations will be engaged to compete for a place in the 24-nation competition.
To mark the start of the qualifiers following the draw that was held in Cairo on 20 February 2024, eight lowest ranked nations will compete in the Preliminary Qualifiers starting on Wednesday, 20 March over a two-legged format that will decide the four nations that will join the other 44 African nations to make up the group stages of the qualifiers.
The CAF AFCON Morocco 2025 journey officially gets underway on Wednesday, 20 March with two fixtures as Somalia plays host to Eswatini, while Djibouti faces Liberia.
Two days later, Chad locks horns with Mauritius before Sao Tome and Principe takes on South Sudan.
The return legs will conclude on Tuesday, 26 March with all matches set to take place on the day to officially decide the preliminary phase of the competition.
AFCON Morocco 2025 Preliminary Qualifiers:
First Leg Fixtures:
Wednesday, 20 March
- 18:00 GMT | Somalia – Eswatini
- 22:00 GMT | Djibouti – Liberia
Friday, 22 March
- 18:00 GMT | Chad – Mauritius
- 19:00 GMT | Sao Tome and Principe – South Sudan
Return Leg Fixtures:
Tuesday, 26 March
- 13:00 GMT | Eswatini – Somalia
- 16:00 GMT | Liberia – Djibouti
- 17:00 GMT | South Sudan – Sao Tome and Principe
- 15:00 GMT | Mauritius – Chad
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