Tunde Folawiyo

Nigeria’s national football team, the Super Eagles, are displaying great confidence as news of the next Africa Nations Cup draw spreads. The 2015 tournament qualifiers will see the team face-off against South Africa’s Bafana Bafana and Sudan, among others. As they have exhibited an extraordinary amount of talent in recent years, the Super Eagles remain high in the rankings for the Group A matches.

Loyal Super Eagles fans like Tunde Folawiyo and millions of others throughout Nigeria and Africa may be eager to witness the team’s much-anticipated contests ahead of this year’s World Cup in Brazil.

The Super Eagles’ confidence level is not without foundation. There is much proof of their success of late, and as they embark on the next Nations Cup journey, they will be pitted against other Group A teams like Sudan. As the champions of the Nations Cup last year, Nigeria can approach the forthcoming tournament with strong confidence, especially with Bafana’s gradual slip down the ranks of the continental stage. The team’s record against Nigeria is unfortunate, to say the least.

Bafana’s reintroduction onto an international stage in 1992 began the start of a 1-6 record against Nigeria. But the team’s coach, Gordon Igesund, is optimistic about the coming fixture, calling the match a “fair draw”. The coach’s contract expires in July, leaving players and fans alike wondering whether it will be renewed. The South African Football Association has yet to give any indication, and the coach himself is staying quiet about what may happen in the coming months.

Bafana’s campaign begins in September with a trip to the east to compete against Sudan. Like Bafana, the Nile Crocodiles have won the Nations Cup championship once. They also failed to qualify for 2013’s Nations Cup in South Africa. Withstanding a disappointing qualifying campaign for the 2014 World Cup, the team is still under the control of coach Mohammed Abdallah.

While Sudan’s record lacks consistency, Igesund’s squad must not underestimate their East African opponent. Bafana’s final Group A match will be against Namibia, Libya, Rwanda or Congo. Libya seem to promise the greatest likelihood of advancement, as they took home last year’s Africa Nations Championship under coach Javier Clemente. They also exhibited impressive skill during their qualifying campaign for 2014’s World Cup, where they triumphed over Togo and Cameroon before finishing second in their group.

As the Super Eagles embark on their World Cup and Nations Cup journeys, the hopes of fans like Tunde Folawiyo and millions of others remain high.

As Nigeria’s Super Eagles embark on another thrilling World Cup campaign, the spotlight is steadily focused on coach Stephen Keshi. The manager has held the reins of the team since 2011, leading them towards victory on football fields throughout the world. Fans of the Super Eagles, like Tunde Folawiyo and millions of others across Nigeria and beyond, may be inspired by the career of Stephen Keshi and its collective impact upon the history of Nigerian football.

Born in Azare, Nigeria, on 23 January 1962, Keshi once played the position of defender during his days as a professional footballer. In 1996, he joined others like Augustine Eguavoen to play for the Sacramento Scorpions of California, a short-lived team that saw Keshi play an integral role in defence. After a career playing with a variety of Belgian clubs, a determined Keshi travelled to the US to learn the art of  coaching. He was long part of Nigeria’s coaching staff before his official start as manager, as he served as the head coach of the country’s Junior Eagles during the African Youth Championships of 2001.

Between 2004 and 2006, Keshi led Togo’s national football squad to their debut World Cup appearance in Germany. He was then replaced by Otto Pfister, a German coach, once the team’s qualification was secure. After a near players’ strike and an unfortunate World Cup qualifying campaign, Pfister departed, leaving Togo without a manager until February 2007. It was then that they again approached Keshi to lead the team in a friendly match against Cameroon.

After working as manager for Mali’s national football squad in an appointment which began in April 2008, Keshi was dismissed in January 2010 after the team’s early exit during the group stages of Africa’s Cup of Nations. In 2011, he was appointed as coach of Nigeria’s national team, leading the country to qualification for 2013’s Africa Cup of Nations. With a 1-0 defeat over Burkina Faso, the Super Eagles won the final, demonstrating Keshi’s outstanding leadership on the field.

The team’s participation in Brazil’s World Cup this summer brings an opportunity for Keshi to further prove his worth as one of the greatest coaches ever to steer the Super Eagles. Fans of Nigerian football, like Tunde Folawiyo and millions of others throughout Africa, may regard Stephen Keshi as one of the sport’s most significant figures.

Over the past week, the Super Eagles’ have been putting the finishing touches on their World Cup preparations. As a football fanatic, Tunde Folawiyo is probably aware that their manager Stephen Keshi has been closely monitoring several players whom he believes might be worthy of  inclusion in the final squad; he noted that he has been particularly interested in Chinedu Obasi, the winger for Schalke 04. Keshi spoke enthusiastically about Obasi, explaining that he had been impressed when watching the player’s recent matches in Germany and Spain.

Keshi himself will be under the same level of scrutiny soon enough; a report published this week revealed that the Nigeria Football Federation will be paying close attention to how he manages the team during the upcoming tournament. Keshi has acknowledged that if the Eagles do not perform as well as expected, he may have to begin looking for a new position. His contract is nearing its end, and its renewal is not certain.

This week, Leon Balogun, another player whom Keshi is said to have been considering for the World Cup squad, spoke to the press regarding his recent injury. The defender, who fell to the ground during his debut match with the Eagles in Atlanta, has said that he is healing quickly, and is optimistic about his chances of joining the team for their upcoming training session in the USA next month.

Meanwhile, the NFF has decided that, contrary to their original statement, the team are now allowed to bring along their wives and girlfriends when they travel to Brazil for the World Cup. Keshi announced this development whilst at a press conference in Lagos. The coach however, was less than enthused about the players taking their other halves. A representative from the NFF’s technical committee also advised against it, arguing that doing so might create a distraction, which could ultimately affect the performance of the team.

A few days ago, the NFF also announced that the musician ‘Solidstar’, would be recording the official theme song for the Super Eagles. This is a performer that most music fans, including Tunde Folawiyo, will be familiar with. He is scheduled to work with the label Achievas Music to complete the song; an NFF spokesperson explained that they chose Solidstar, as he is not only talented, but also passionate about football, and moreover, almost everyone can relate to, and enjoy his style of music.

The assistant director of communications at the NFA, Ademola Olajire, has announced that the Super Eagles’ final training session will begin on the 26th of May; he explained that although they would prefer to prepare a little earlier, this was not possible, as most of the players will be busy with their own clubs’ matches up until midway through the month, and will then need a rest before they start focusing on the tournament. Olajire added that, as the World Cup draws nearer, the competition for places in the squad is becoming more and more intense, with dozens of players hoping to impress Keshi and secure a place on the team.

The coach has stated that he intends to have a 35-man, rather than a 30-man squad; this might come as a surprise to Tunde Folawiyo, and other Eagles’ fans. Whilst it’s good news for those who wish to join the team for the tournament, it is a decision which Keshi will need to justify to the NFF’s technical committee. He is due to meet with them, and present his case this coming week in Abuja; however, Chris Green, who serves as the chairman of this committee, has assured the public that they will not be asking Keshi to explain the inclusion of each individual player, but will merely be requesting that he discuss his decision to create a larger-than-average squad.

Sports fanatics like Tunde Folawiyo might be aware Keshi is considering bringing Peter Osaze Odemwingie on board. As of late, this player has been performed exceptionally well with Stoke City, and it seems entirely possible that Keshi will select him for the final squad. However, when asked about this, Keshi remained rather tight-lipped; speaking to the press, he explained that although he was pleased that Odemwingie had been scoring goals for his English club, this would not guarantee him a place on the Eagles team at the World Cup. He went on to say that he would not invite any players that could potentially disrupt the sense of unity which the team currently has.

Whilst the coach has yet to reveal his decision regarding this particular player, the public have already made it clear that they wholeheartedly support Odemwingie’s return to the Eagles; a survey conducted by Goal Nigeria showed that 86% of their readers would be happy to see him join the squad for the upcoming tournament.

Nigeria’s friendly against Mexico at the Georgia Dome was a highly anticipated match, which ended with a draw of 0-0. The Super Eagles appeared to be the superior team at first glance, getting off to a strong start when Ahmed Musa was afforded a free kick just three minutes into the match. However, Musa failed to score, and this, coupled with Victor Moses’ penalty claim being denied five minutes later, probably dampened the hopes of the Eagles’ fans like Tunde Folawiyo.

Another attempt was made by Emmanuel Emenike a few minutes later, but Ochoa, Mexico’s goalkeeper, managed to catch the ball at the last second. Not long after this, the Mexican also successfully thwarted Ogenyi Onazi’s shot.

The flurry of attacks by the Super Eagles only seemed to spur on their opponents, and as the first half progressed, Mexico began to gain the upper hand, retaining possession of the ball and taking one shot after another at Nigeria’s net. The Eagles’ keeper Enyeama performed a number of skilful saves however, thus ensuring that despite their best efforts, Mexico did not take the lead.

They did however come very close to scoring in the 23rd minute, when Hector Herrara delivered a powerful shot; unfortunately for Mexican fans, the angle of Herrara’s kick was not quite straight, and it went just over the net. Minutes later, Rafael Marquez made a similar attempt, but Enyeama once again came to the Eagles’ rescue, diving to the corner just before the ball made contact with the goal. Towards the end of the first half, Musa was given an opportunity to score, but whilst he did slip past Mexico’s defenders, he couldn’t manage to get the ball beyond Ochoa’s reach.

During the interval, Keshi chose to make a number of substitutions, and as the second half commenced, Leon Balogun, Ramon Azeez and Austin Ejide all made their way onto the pitch. But these changes had little effect on the match; although Azeez did make a valiant effort to score during the 67th minute, his shot went just wide of the net.

The match ended with neither side having scored; whilst some Eagles’ supporters, such as Tunde Folawiyo, may have been disappointed by this result, Austin Egueavon, the team’s former coach, described the team’s performance as ‘impressive’, although he did criticise the players who had been unsuccessful in their attempts to convert their scoring opportunities. He attributed these failures to a lack of support in midfield.