AFCON
DELTA GOVERNOR, OKOWA, PUMPS UP SUPER EAGLES’ SPIRITS WITH DOLLARS
The Super Eagles have praised Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State for his incentive of $25,000 for every goal in Saturday’s 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying cracker against South Africa, admitting the incentive will motivate the team to fire from every cylinder.
While visiting the team at its evening training session on Tuesday, in company of the President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Pinnick, Okowa pledged the sum of $25,000 for every goal scored by the three –time African champions in the crucial tie.
With the Super Eagles having lost their first –ever competitive match against the Bafana Bafana on Matchday 1 of the series in Uyo 17 months ago, and with the added pull of qualifying for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations with a match to spare, Okowa’s cash pledge came in ample time to stoke the fire in the Nigerian boys further.
The soft –spoken Okowa said: “I am pleased to have the Super Eagles here in Asaba.
“We hope you make Asaba your home, and as a people we will begin to follow your progress even more closely. We appreciate the giant strides Nigerian Football is making and commend the leadership of the NFF for making Delta State part of its success story.
“For every goal scored by the Super Eagles in Johannesburg on Saturday, we pledge a reward of $25,000. Please don’t put a limit to the number of goals you score on Saturday; try and score as many as possible.”
Stand –in Captain Ahmed Musa responded: “We thank His Excellency, Governor Okowa, so much for the motivation to us to do well in Johannesburg on Saturday. We promise that we will return here on Sunday with victory. We will also do all we can to give the people of Asaba and the generality of Delta State and Nigerians a very good game against Uganda next Tuesday.”
NFF President Amaju Pinnick said: “We appreciate Governor Okowa for the tremendous support given to the Super Eagles and by extension, the Nigeria Football Federation.
“The bill for next Tuesday’s international friendly against Uganda has been underwritten completely by the Delta State Government.
“As my Governor and father said, this State will begin to play a more prominent role in the programmes of the NFF and the Super Eagles.
“I want to commend the Super Eagles Technical Adviser, Gernot Rohr for assembling a young, professional and very efficient team for now and the future. We will continue to do all we can to making sure they do Nigeria proud.”
Coach Gernot Rohr said: “I thank the Delta State Government for their hospitality and for making us feel so comfortable. I am so happy because the pitch is in a much better state than the last time I was here.
The Super Eagles will continue to work hard to make all those who have played one role or the other in its progress happy that their investment in the team is not a waste.”
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.
Hitherto first choice striker, Victor Osimhen was again benched in Nigeria’s second match of the on-going Africa Cup of Nations qualifying series.
In Saturday’s match with Benin Republic, his having to start from the bench was hinged on his late arrival to camp. He came off the bench and found the net within six minutes.
But on Tuesday, he came in much earlier in the second half. Another striker, Taiwo Awoniyi who sat all through in the first match was a late substitute in the game against Rwanda.
At the post-match interview in Kigali, Eguavoen said that the striker’s fitness level was put to the test after a difficult summer that saw a failed move to Chelsea and a falling out with Napoli.
“Osimhen is our brother, you can’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. We know what he is going through in Napoli. He just moved to Galatasaray and has not been playing active football for a while now,” Eguavoen explained.
“We are trying to manage his fitness. He played the last 25 minutes in the previous game, and today we had a word with him that he can’t play 90 minutes or else he will get injured,” he added.
The coach also addressed his decision to limit minutes for other key players, including Taiwo Awoniyi, stating that fitness and the need to balance squad rotation were key factors.
“Awoniyi had a few minutes at his club before joining us,” Eguavoen explained. “We have 23 to 40 players to choose from, but only 11 can start. It’s frustrating, but the bonding is there, and everyone is on board.”
On the team’s formation, Eguavoen revealed the challenges of preparing the squad in a short period.
“We trained for three or four days before the Benin game and then had to come here. It’s very difficult to change formation,” he said, noting that the limited time prevented the opportunity for tactical adjustments.
Despite the tactical and fitness challenges, Eguavoen remains confident in his squad’s ability to qualify for AFCON 2025.
Benin Republic came from behind to defeat Libya 2-1 in the second match of Group D’s MatchDay 2 contest in Abidjan on Tuesday night.
With the victory, Nigeria’s western neighbours now rank next to the Super Eagles of the group’s log. The Nigerians on four points and not conceding any goal yet remain atop of the group while Benin Republic with three points rank next.
The Cheetahs of Benin however have a two goal deficit in goal difference. They opened their Tuesday night game with their back on the wall as they conceded a 9th minute penalty kick that was converted by Libya’s Faisal Saleh.
The Libyans carried the lone goal advantage to half-time. Five minutes into the second half, Benin Republic restored parity from a rifling shot by Steve Mounie.
They seized the momentum and got a penalty kick which Junior Olaitan converted. The match day 3 will hold next month as Nigeria hosts Libya while Benin, playing back-to-back at home will host Rwanda. Both matches will hold on 7 October.
Tuesday’s match results
Rwanda 0-0 Nigeria
Benin 2-1 Libya
Gabon 2-0 CAR
Botswana 0-4 Egypt
Cape Verde 2-0 Mauritania
Liberia 0-3 Algeria
Chad 0-2 CIV
Zambia 3-2 S’Leone
Guinea 1-2 Tanzania
Eswatini 0-1 Mali
Mozambique 2-1 G’Bissau
Namibia 1-2 Kenya
Zimbabwe 0-0 Cameroon
S’Sudan 2-3 S/Africa
B’Faso 3-1 Malawi
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