Tuesday 10 September 2013

Nigeria vs Burkina Faso friendly: Whither the Eagles?

Nigeria vs Burkina Faso friendly: Whither the Eagles?

“Defeating the Burkina babes would not be a difficult task for Vincent Enyeama’s led side, we should do it with style as we consolidate our status as kings of the continent, have fun watch the game with some level of ease and urge our dear supporters in Kaduna and neigbouring states to mobilize and be at the stadium to cheer the team to victory”

Nigeria national football team, the Super Eagles will on Wednesday, September 11, 2013 file out in Kaduna against their West African rivals and 2013 Africa Cup of Nations finalist, Bukina Faso in a high profile friendly to keep the team in shape.


The Bukina Faso national football team nicknamed Les Etalons (The Stallions) arrived the country over the weekend and have since settled in the ancient northern city ready for the challenge of the African Champions and if I by stroke of luck, hope to dent the record of the Super Eagles at home under the tutelage of coach Stephen Keshi.

The team has improved vastly on the continent with top scorer Moumouni Dagano providing the sides’ main attacking threat and Jonathan Pritopia, Alain Traore and Charles Kabore have emerged as leaders in the midfield thanks to the expression they have gained in Europe.

The international friendly remains timely for the Eagles as Keshi hopes to complement on the success of the team so far as Nigerians look forward to a great team that will bring pride and glory to the nation.
It is also another oportunity for the players to showcase their talents and for the technical crew to re-assess the technical depth and deficiencies of the team.

It is also another major boost to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) in keeping the team busy and ensuring that the players are duly engaged during the FIFA Windows as this week presents yet another opportunity.
Watching the Eagles play in recent times, major concerns have been expressed by soccer pundits on the stamina of the team through the duration of the game and the loss of concentration in the defence line as duo of Godfrey Ogbaoboama and Kenneth Omeruo held sway before Kenneth’s injury and the combination of Ogbaoboana and Azubuike Egureke witout captain Joseph Yobo.
It is believed that the challenge of the Stallions of Burkina Faso should be able to stretch the team as we hope to see the lapses and the reactionary challenges of the technical crew.

Perhaps, Nigeria and Burkina Faso would be a massive test run for the Eagles ahead of the final qualifiers on home and away basis for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Africa Zone.

The draws for the last round of matches to pick Africa’s five representatives will be held this month while the matches will take place between October and November this year.

It is also worhty to note to state that the Nigerian team will be seeded for the final draws as that puts the Eagles on the drivers’ seat and a firm advantage as the opportunity creates a first leg away appearance for the team, while hoping to come back home for the second leg and get the job done clinically.

This FIFA friendly window would be the last for the team also and it must be taken seriously to engage the team to success.
In as much as I would have loved some established stars like Captain Joseph Yobo to make a return to the team, I believe the quality of players on ground would be capable of uplifting their standards and stand tall to excel in the team.
Keshi needs to instill more confidence in his players especially his attack line where Brown Ideye has become a major culprit in his near misses infront of the goal post a recent case being the Confederations Cup which took place in June in Brazil.

The Stallions of Burkina Faso play almost the same pattern with the Eagles with a different flair, but are also physical like other West African nations, as such, the Eagles must be able to show character on the pitch and contain their moves with all amount of professionalism.

The team must step up their team work, passes and the midfield in my modest opinion should be able to take charge of every activity as we look forward to a great outing for the team.

I must commend Stephen Keshi so far, though in my honest opinion, I still rate him far below my expectations as the national team manager due to his excesses, for giving the players in the national team, the opportunity to excel, show hunger and bring glory to the country and the continent.

The Alhaji Aminu Maigari led board of the NFF must truly be commended for so far showing much promise to transform Nigerian football at levels especially the senior national team which remains our global export and rallying point of unity.
They must be commended for the existing partnership with the team especially the technical crew as we put behind the unfortunate national embarrassment after the Namibia encounter in Windhoek and strictly abide by the new code of conduct for the team.

Defeating the Burkina babes would not be a difficult task for Vincent Enyeama’s led side, we should do it with style as we consolidate our status as kings of the continent, have fun watch the game with some level of ease and urge our dear supporters in Kaduna and neigbouring states to mobilize and be at the stadium to cheer the team to victory.

This game remains another feather to Keshi’s success story so far and like the NFF Technical Committee chairman stated last week, Keshi can become a legend if he keeps his heads down and gets the job done and this game provides yet another opportunity for the team to excel. And for these, the Eagles need to consolidate on their successes.




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