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38 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 24, 2021
AFCON 2021:
Super Eagles camp bubbles
for Squirrels, Crocodiles
Nigeria’s senior men team’s camp
is teeming with her superstars
as countdown begins for the final
round of qualification matches for the
2021 Africa Cup of Nations against
Benin Republic and Lesotho
respectively.
At lunchtime on Tuesday, 23
players had arrived at the
magnificent Eko Hotel & Towers,
Victoria Island, Lagos where the
three-time African champions are
ensconced ahead of the big duels.
Nigeria top their group with eight
points, one better than the Squirrels
of Benin Republic, against whom
they trade tackles at the Stade
Charles de Gaulle in Porto Novo on
Saturday in the penultimate round
of the qualifying campaign. Three
days later, the Eagles confront the
Crocodiles of Lesotho at the Teslim
Covid-19 pandemic has denied
the world the spectacle usually
associated with sports events.
And since 2020 great football
matches have been played and are
still being played in empty stadiums
to avoid spread of the diseases.
Covid-19 has changed the world.
However, Africa's soccer icon and
Qatar 2022 World Cup ambassador,
Samuel Eto'o is hopeful that some
normalcy may result from the
current global efforts fighting the
pandemic and that the world will
be treated to the usual spectacle that
the World Cup is in 2022.
'It's 600 days to the World Cup.
That's a lot of time for things to get
better and possibly get 100 percent
of the usual spectacle we all
experience from the fans', Eto'o said
in a virtual media chat with African
journalists Tuesday. Eto'o has been
living in Qatar for three years now.
He is a witness to the transformation
the country has gone through in
readiness for the World Cup in 2022.
'If you consider the efforts
everybody is making including the
World Health Organisation, WHO,
Balogun Stadium, Lagos in what will
be their first encounter in Nigeria’s
commercial and economic capital in
10 years.
With three –pointer Sierra Leone,
third in the pool, concluding their
game away to bottom –placed
Lesotho in Maseru earlier, the Eagles
could be guaranteed qualification for
the final tournament in Cameroon
before kick-off in Porto Novo. Failure
by the Leone Stars to pick all three
points will mean Nigeria and Benin
are through to Cameroon.
On Tuesday, Coach Gernot Rohr
said his wards will approach
Saturday’s match with the intention
of picking all three poits, no matter
the result of the group’s other tie in
southern Africa.
“We are keen to restore a winning
mentality to the group ahead of very
Qatar 2022 World Cup:
I wish I were 10 years younger
to play in Qatar — Eto'o
•Says 'Football spectacle may
return before the games'
GWG acquires
HISL/HIFL
trademark
Green White Green Sports
Centre Ltd (GWG) has
acquired Higher Institution Sports
League (HISL) and Higher
Institution Football League (HIFL)
trademark.
The acquisition extends the
GWG’s search for all
encompassing education -
providing training; entertainment;
sporting and cultural activities.
Announcing the acquisition
yesterday, Secretary, HISL/HIFL
Supreme Management
Committee, Babatunde Adejuwon,
said GWG will at any moment from
now come up with aggregate
sports programmes for all Higher
Education Institutions — in a way
that suits developmental needs of
combining sports with education.
Adejuwon, who is a renowned
volleyball promoter, added that
combining sport with academic
study improves athlete
performance on the field as well as
off it and gives the athlete a headstart
in post-sport career.
it's possible the spectacle may return
at the World Cup. However, if the
pandemic continues I'm sure that
Qatar will take the right decisions
that will be good for football,' he said
while assuring that the Middle East
country is ready to host the best
World Cup ever.
On the facilities he said that all the
stadiums will be ready this year,
noting that some are ready now and
hosting matches.
'Each time I visit any of the venues
and see the magnificent structures I
feel like a baby given a new toy. The
sights are amazing to behold and I
wish I were 10 years younger so that
I could play there at the World Cup.
Some of them are already hosting
matches. The rest will be ready before
the end of this year.'
No African country has gotten
close to winning the World Cup.
Cameroun, Senegal and Ghana only
reached the quarter finals. Will Qatar
offer African countries better
opportunities to excel?
The last time Eto'o was asked a
similar question he said Africa had
the talents to do better than they
have done at the World Cup but
regretted that administration of the
game in the continent has always
frustrated the teams. His position has
not changed but he hopes that
African teams have what it takes to
make their continent proud in Qatar.
'Football is like a religion in Africa.
The fans support their teams and
they will bank on them to make them
proud.'
By John Egbokhan
Super Eagles manager, Gernot
Rohr, has inferred that Genk
towering striker, Paul Onuachu,
was a victim of his instant and early
success in the senior national team.
Rohr, initially excluded Onuachu,
who has scored 25 goals from 30
matches in the Belgian top flight
league, from the upcoming African
Cup of Nations qualifying fixtures
against Benin Republic and
Lesotho in Port Novo and Lagos,
said the striker’s failure to live up
to his early promise,where he
scored a quick-fire goal, pushed him
to the stand-by list of the national
team.
crucial matches that we have ahead.
It is important that we earn victories
in the upcoming matches so that we
get into our paces for the FIFA World
Cup qualifiers. There will be tough
games to come and we need to be
rearing to go.”
The Eagles have Cape Verde,
Liberia and Central Africa Republic
to dispute in the 2022 FIFA World
Cup race, with only the winner
heading to the final knockout series
in November. Liberia’s Lone Star will
be the Eagles’ first opponents in that
race, at home, before a trip to Bangui.
•Ahmed
Musa
On the
organisation
a n d
preparedness
of Qatar,
E t o ' o
challenged
African
countries
to emulate
Qatar and
be inspired
by their vision.
•Eto'o
'Qatar is a small country in the
Middle East but they are a country
with visionary leaders who have
made them what they are today. I
hope that Africa will draw inspiration
from them. The World Cup is not only
about the games, there are so many
benefits that come with it.'
Eto'o feels that the package Qatar
is offering to the world in 2022 is so
amazing that he describes it as 'a
gift to the world.'
Rohr: Onuachu a victim of
instant Eagles success
But for UD Almeria's decision to
stop Sadik Umar from linking up
with the Eagles camp in Lagos,
Onuachu, would not have been
deemed good enough to make the
team and speaking yesterday at the
Eko Hotel, Rohr, who back-tracked
on his earlier snub for Onuachu,
with a late invitation, said the latter
remains “a very important player”
for Nigeria.
“Onuachu is a part of the team, I
invited him already when he
played his first match and he
scored the goal after seven seconds
and then the people are waiting
all the time that he is doing the
same but he could not."
Home-based players too much
in a hurry —Rohr
Super Eagles coach, Gernot
Rohr has said home-based
Nigerian players are too much in
a hurry to get overseas clubs, hence
their lack of break-through with
the national team.
Rohr has been under much
criticism for his lack of
enthusiasm for players in the
Nigeria Professional Football
League, but he said ahead of the
African Cup of Nations qualifiers
against Benin Republic and
Lesotho this weekend, that homebased
players need to develop
their skills before going abroad.
"I already invited more than 23
or 24 local players since I have
been in charge of the Super Eagles
but we invite them and then
immediately they are going to
Europe.
It is wonderful for them but
maybe not for us,” said coach
Rohr
Meanwhile Adekunle Adeleke,
Abia Warriors defender one of the
NPFL players invited for the
AFCON qualifiers games said he
By John Egbokhan
Super Eagles players have not
been told that they would be
travelling by boat to Port Novo for
this weekend's African Cup of
Nations qualifier against the
Squirrels.
Only last week, the President of the
Nigeria Football Federation , Amaju
Pinnick and the Eagles manager,
Gernot Rohr, embarked on a boat trip
to Benin Republic, as a way of
reassuring the Franco-German
tactician on the safety and
workability of moving the team
for the duel with the
Squirrels.
It was learnt that Rohr
had initially raised
eyebrows over the plan to
ferry the team to Benin
•Adeleke
would make good use of the
opportunity.
“Definitely we are going to give
a good account of ourselves and
try to do our best to show that
there are good and quality
players in the league,” Adeleke
said
Eagles not aware of boat
trip to Benin
By Jacob Ajom
Super
Eagles
manager, Gernot
Rohr has said that the
Super Eagles were happy to be in
Lagos after their sojourns to Uyo,
Asaba and Benin in the past.
Rohr who was speaking with
the media after Super Eagles
walkout in the gym Tuesday
morning said Lagos was an ideal
place with superb facilities that could
not be accessed in Benin and Asaba.
“I am happy to be in Lagos because
we have good facilities here and Uyo
was very good too. But we don't have
to travel far before playing our match.
In the past, when we were going to
the regions we had to sleep in Lagos
first before travelling to either Benin
or Asaba to play,” he recalled.
He was sure the pitch would not
be a problem because he was aware
Republic by boat but later softpedalled
after the sea voyage to
Cotonou in a boat.
''With the experience, I strongly
believe our coming trip to Port Novo
is doable by boat'', Pinnick wrote on
his instagram page.
But speaking for the first time on
the issue, captain Ahmed Musa said
yesterday that the players were yet
to be intimated on the recourse to
boat to hit Benin for the AFCON
qualifier.
''We are not aware that we would
be travelling by boat to Benin
Republic. This is news to me'', said
Musa.
When told that Manager Rohr has
confirmed that the team would go
on a boat voyage for the game, Musa
responded, ''I am sure we would be
briefed and personally, I have
nothing against the plan if its okay.
Rohr: Eagles happy to be
in Lagos
Benin match a
must win – Rohr
that the Teslim Balogun stadium
management had been working on
the grass/
He expressed optimism, “They
have been working hard on the
grass. The last time I came here
some weeks back, I made a point
about the grass. I think the grass
will be okay.”
The coach also expressed
happiness over the prospects of the
Eagles playing in front of Lagos fans
when they take on the Crocodiles of
Lesotho, March 30.
“Playing in front of
fans will make the
players happy
and I am sure it
is going to be a
very good final
match because
we are going to
celebrate our
qualification.”
Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr,
has said beating the Republic of
Benin at home is a task that must
be accomplished when they meet in
•Rohr
the AFCON qualifiers.
The Franco-German coach is already
anticipating challenging games in Porto Novo
against the Squirrels and in Lagos against Lesotho on March 27 and
30 respectively.
Nigeria leads the Group L qualifying group with eight points after four
matches while Benin trail in second place with seven points and Lesotho are
at the bottom of the group with two points.
But the Super Eagles remain favourites to join the party at Cameroon
2022, especially with the majority of invited Europe and home-based stars
already available in the country for the two crucial encounters.
And a confident Rohr is targeting a draw in Porto Novo against the tough
Squirrels and a big win in Lagos versus Lesotho.
“We want to finish our qualification on a positive note, and the two matches
against Benin and Lesotho are very important,” Rohr told the CAF website.
“Of course, we know that Benin is difficult to beat after our last game in
Uyo (Nigeria won 2-1) and we need at least a point against them to qualify
for next year’s Afcon.