Sports
Angola 2010: Amodu, Super Eagles Face Nations Cup Test morrow …Clash With Egypt In Group C Opener
The Super Eagles of Nigeria will tomorrow in Benguela, Angola begin their quest for glory in the 27th Africa Cup of Nations, tagged Angola 2010, as they clash with defending champions, the Pharoahs of Egypt.
It is the beginning of the test of the resolve of the Nigerian team and the ability of coach Shuaibu Amodu to, first of all, achieve the semi final mandate given the team by the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, and ending the search for the championships elusive ultimate prize since 1994.
On paper, the game looks to be a titanic tie between two African football powers which promises to produce a quality context.
Egypt though appears to have a slight edge when recent form is put into consideration.
The Pharaohs have won the title back-to-back on the last two editions and seem to know how to navigate the terrain.
But the teams inability to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and the absence of influential players, Mohammed Aboutarika, Amr Zaki and Mido cast a question on their chances in Angola.
For the Super Eagles, it has not been smooth sailing for them as they struggled to edge out Tunisia in the race for South Africa 2010.
Also, the lack of the finesse and killer instinct the team was noted for in the past and the apparent lack of confidence on Coach Amodu, and the presence to do well in the competition may weigh down the Eagles.
Interestingly, however, the Nigerian team knows that their fate on the competition may be shaped by the outcome of tomorrow’s match.
Coach Amodu and Skipper Nwankwo Kanu have underlined the importance of the match by declaring that Egypt must be beaten.
Indeed, the Pharaohs seem to be at their most vulnerable point but the Super Eagles must be cautious.
They must avoid the disjointed performance, poor defending and lethargic marksmanship that were the hallmark of their qualify campaign if they are to beat the Egyptians and pass the test that is before them in Angola.
England captain Harry Kane netted a hat-trick to guide Bayern Munich to an impressive victory against Stuttgart.
Kane’s goals, plus one from Kingsley Coman, helped Bayern end a three-game winless run in all competitions.
They faced a tough task against a Stuttgart side who sat back and limited their chances, leading Vincent Kompany’s side to enter the break frustrated and with the deadlock unbroken.
Bayern eventually found a way past Stuttgart’s steely defence when Kane drilled a low effort into the bottom corner from around 30 yards out after Joshua Kimmich overturned possession.
Former Nigeria goalkeeper, Dosu Joseph, is full of thanks to God after he miraculously survived another life-threatening automobile accident recent at Kara, along the Lagos-Ibadan Express Way, where a heavy-duty truck ran into his SUV.
Narrating his ordeal, the 51-year-old, who guided Nigeria to gold in the Men’s Football Tournament of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, broke the news in a statement on his social media handles on Friday.
“To God be the glory, another death escaped by Grace and Mercy of God. Me and my friend SM were at Enyo Filling Station after Ojodu Berger bus stop to get fuel on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, around 6 p.m. when this MACK truck fully loaded with iron, with registration number LND 470 XX, left the road and crushed my car beyond repairs. Thank God for life,” he stated.
This is the second time the soft-spoken club proprietor will cheat death by a whisker, having been involved in an accident in 1997 that ended his career at 23 and left his spinal cord in bad shape.
He helped Julius Berger win the Nigeria FA Cup in November 1997 shortly a memorable Olympic outing by keeping a clean sheet in the finals against Katsina United. The following year, he was involved in the auto along Ikorodu Road, Lagos, which not only cut his career short but also left him almost paralysed, ending his spell at Serie A club Reggiana.
The former Nigeria international, who also kept goal for Julius Berger FC, said the case has been reported to Isheri Police Station, Ogun State, where the driver is currently detained and the truck also seized.
According to him, the owner of the truck said he can’t fix the badly damaged SUV until after a year.
Ex – Super Eagles of Nigeria, Okwuchukwu Waobikeze has observed that sports development in Nigeria is going down.
According to him, grassroots sports is very important, without it, the administrators cannot get it right. So everybody should key into grassroots sports development, he said.
Waobikeze said this last Wednesday in an interview with sports journalists shortly after the Port Harcourt All Stars Independence football festival (OCTOBERFEST) at the Port Harcourt club, Rivers State.
He explained that for sports administrators to get it right, grassroots development is key. “They should be organising competition at the grassroots level to fish out the young ones for different sporting activities.
“Grassroots sports is very important so the administrators have to go back to the grassroots.
” Sports Development in Nigeria is going down we need to go back to the basics.
“Look at the just concluded Paris Olympics, Nigeria did not win any medal.
” Our football team did not even qualify for the Olympics. We are going down.
” If they should go back to the grassroots, they will get young ones in the games and talents will be developed.
” I started from school games, to youth games before playing for the national team. Now everybody wants to fly board to play professional football and a lot do not know the basics of the game.
” A lot of people did not know the little things about the game, they just want to play. It is not done so,” Waobikeze stated.
Kiadum Edookor
