NFF officials have revealed that the game against Catalonia will be used the final test to select the Home-based players that will make coach Stephen Keshi's final 23-man squad for next month's Nations Cup.
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Spokesman for the Nigeria Football Federation Ademola Olajire told newsmen that players who do not make the final team will return back to Nigeria after the game from their camp in Faro Portugal.
Olajire further disclosed that the team will now travel to their camp in Portugal on December 23, while a fundraising dinner is being proposed to be held on December 29.
In a related development, coach Stephen Keshi has pleaded with Nigerians not to distract his team with unconstructive criticisms at this crucial stage of preparation for the Nations Cup.
“The entire team needs absolute concentration but every day there are reports about divisions in the team and several other negative stories and that is not good for the type of team we want to build for the Nations Cup,” Keshi said.
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Abundance of talent is one thing, but having a team is whole different case. Nigeria will ONLY have a formidable team if Keshi chose his team based on merit. Idea team:
Goalkeepers:
1.V. Enyeama, 12. A. Ejide, 23. C. Agbim
Defenders:
20.K. Solomon, 16.K Omeruo, 3.T. Taiwo, 19.U. Echiejile, 2.J. Yobo 5.O. Apam, 6.E. Ambrose, 13. A. Egwueke
Midfielders(Attacking/Defensive):
7.A. Musa, 11.V. Moses, 21.P. Odemwingie, 12.L. Haruna, 10.O. Mikel, 14.E.Igiebor, 4.J. Obi, 22.O.Nwankwo (or F.Ogude),
Strikers:
8.B. Ideye, 9.E. Emenike, 15.I. Uche, 17.O. Martins, 18.S. Ameobi
Standby:
F.Ogude (good player & a hard working midfielder)
E.Imoh (Fast rising star, & deserves to be given a chance)
O.Nsofor (good player, but needs to be evaluated under the new Super Eagles system to determine his fit)
K.Uche (good player, but plays as a striker in his club. It will not be wise to pick him as a central midfielder, but can be a good option as an attacking midfielder)
D.Adejo (good defender, but needs to gain international experience at national team level)
C.Ogbuke (Experienced player, could snick into the last list)
Sa.Ameobi (Very promising talent, but needs time to mature into a great talent. CAP him immediately after ANC bcos he is target for England, but with his brother on our side, we have the upper hand to CAP him)
J.Chibuike (promising talent, could be a surprise inclusion)
G.Oboabona (Very questionable player, gives wrong passes that results counterattacks on our defense)
S.Aluko (good player, but he is down the pecking order in his position)
L.Balogun (would be a great pick-up, available without need for FIFA clearance)
O.Onazi (Need more experience & not a regular in Lazio)
S.Sam (Not yet cleared by FIFA & has injury)?
Based on these available players, can someone tell me why \"Keshi\" in his right state of mind will opt to invite only 17 foreign-based players. If he goes along with this plan, he will be sacked at the end of a fruitless ANC. I have always had doubt about Keshi's fairness in players selection, and this guy seems like he is bound to put the integrity of Nigeria in football under a risk of hefty embarrassment.
Nice analysis there,but i am a bit dissappointed not to see Ejike Uzoenyi in either your first list or standby.
Agreed he had a bad game in the last friendly against venezuela but he surely deserves a place in Afcon list,he is among the best top 5 NPL players and much better than Sone Aluko etc in the left midfield.I think deserves to be there.
At a time Brown Ideye and Ahmed Musa and many others are willing to cut short holidays and begging the technical crew to open camp for final preparations, it is now that we want to start a jamboree with the home based. There are so many questions to ask NFF and Keshi.
Why can't the Euro based be involved in this camp that opens on December 23?
Catalonia is not a registered Fifa country, what does the Nff hope to achieve with this match besides the money they are getting for this game?
If we must play Catalonia ,why must we play them with only home based. Do you know that the last time we played them, they beat the home based 5-0?
Do you realize that these guys are a collection of Spanish players from the Basque district that include Xavi and Fabregas, and coached by Johan Cruyff.
It is exactly one month to the Afcon, and the NFF have not even confirmed one single match with an African country. When are the Eagles going to play an African team?
Since our Euro based players are willing to start camping early why does the NFF and Keshi want to wait till January 4 to start camping when most countries like Tunisia and South Africa start on December 27?
What happened to the proposed games against Cape Verde, Algeria and Angola?
Slyman
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Nice analysis there,but i am a bit dissappointed not to see Ejike Uzoenyi in either your first list or standby.
Agreed he had a bad game in the last friendly against venezuela but he surely deserves a place in Afcon list,he is among the best top 5 NPL players and much better than Sone Aluko etc in the left midfield.I think deserves to be there.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anonymous, I hope you were not drunk when you wrote that comment. Ejike is okay but to actually say that he is better than Aluko is such a stretch. Please go to YouTube and See ALUKOs highlight.
Can Ejike play freekicks and bend it like Beckam, can he play on both wings, can he also play the free role as the central attacking midfielder? Do you know that the current best player in the British championship division is Sone Aluko. If Ejike is so good how come he has been rejected so many times after trials? Why does Ejike claim to be 20 when he has 5 years of NPL experience? Ejike is an NPL quality, but definitely not world class.
If both Osaze and Aluko are dropped for Uzoenyi, it will be a travesty of justice.
Slyman
@ Slyman. ...very well said. DOUBLE THUMBS UP!!
Wonder if our homebase players knows how strong the opposition \"catalonia\" really are. I say' ...some of them are CURRENT WORLD CHAMPION WITH SPAIN.
Begs the question why our european players arent tested too. No disrespect but ...No one should be treated special.
By know. KESHI should know hos starting line'up. & should @ least have 2 african friendless before the tournament. God'll help us!
posted: 02:32 pm | Report
Can't you guys see. The foreign based Eagles aren't even allowed to come until January 4. If Keshi could....he would have brought those players to Faro.
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Were they not aware of that fact before they organized the match? Why haven't they planned the match for say 6th January when his real team will be in attendances so he can start to perfect his tactics if he ever has one? Considering that only 4 to 6 of the home based players will be in South Africa, in my opinion, this is a waste of time.
Using only home based only for yet another friendly match as Keshi continues to rebuild until kingdom comes, I will advice you guys to lower your expectations as ex eagles Taribo West ans Akpoborie has already pointed out. This friendly or novelty match will probably end 10 - 0 in favour of Catalonia - remember it was 5 -0 last time the played the eagles
However, Keshi on Wednesday in Abuja gave away some of the professionals who will be on that list when he said Russia-based strikers Ahmed Musa and Emmanuel Emenike as well as Ogenyi Onazi will be in camp in Portugal on December 29.
Keshi also said Ukraine-based striker Brown Ideye will also join up with the rest of the squad on the same day.
He also mentioned Newcastle United striker Shola Ameobi and Bright Dike, who is based in the United States, as players who have impressed him to earn a call-up for the Nations Cup.
He said he expects at least 11 of the foreign-based players mainly from Scandinavia and Eastern Europe in Portugal on this day.
However, he confirmed that Inter Milan midfielder Joel Obi will not be involved in the Nations Cup in South Africa on account of a muscle injury.
“Joel Obi is out and we will miss him,” lamented Keshi.
The Eagles coach heaped praise on Kano Pillars defensive midfielder Gabriel Reuben, who has returned to full fitness after a long-term groin complaint, which kept him out of recent games involving the national team.
"Reuben has been great. He has been showing us that we missed him in the Eagles. He has been climbing in training and with his form, he can only get better,\" Keshi declared.--------------------------------------------------------------------
Just read this from Mtnfootball. Kickoff where is the truth in your story. Are the Eagles resuming final preparations on January 4th, December 23, 27, or 29?
Why is Keshi waiting till Christmas day to release this list? I suspect it is because of the shock factor. He will not be able to handle the criticism that will come with leaving out major players like Martins, Osaze, Kalu Uche, Aluko and Apam. Welcome back Gabriel Reuben.
What the hell is Shola Ameobi and Dike doing on this list? Slyman
Taiwo dropped for Kwambe
Apam dropped for Oboabona
Haruna snubbed for Lawal
Odemwingie snubbed for Bright 'WTF 'Dike!!!
Kalu Uche snubbed for Shola '0 goal' Ameobi
Oboabona showed in Liberia, that he cant play right back. Against Venezuela, he was a liability all game. Terrible understanding with Egwueke in central defence and it was his erring pass that caused the only goal against the Eagles. In my humble opinion, Lawal lost the ball too many times in the midfield against Venezuela, he is not reliable. Ameobi does not score goals. He plays the game like he is only supposed to pass to Cisse or Ba in Newcastle. I am digging into the history books right now to find out when was the last time Shola scored a goal. Why can't Keshi see that despite Kalu Uche not being as tall as Shola, he controls the ball very well, passes very well and shoots on target. That is why this year alone Kalu scored 6 for Espanyol and 10 for Kasimpasa in all competitions. As for the ridiculous Bright Dike for Osaze Odemwingie, all I can say is OMG! WTF! Haba! Ewoo! Yeee! ........you guys can feel in the blanks I am so lost for words.
Somebody please wake me up from this nightmare and say 'It aint so'. Slyman
if Apam and Obi doesn't make the list i'll understand they are still struggling with fitness..
aside this two,, mmhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
if Odemwingie is snubbed for Ameobi
Kalu Uche snubbed for Bright Dike
i will totally loose faith in humanity.. for now i reserve my comment.
The only explanation I'll have is that Keshi wants somebody who would be pleased with bench role...
I'll would really love to see Martins.
By the way we dont know the final list at the moment so lets wait.
And please lets dont forget that we dont have a striker problem anyway!!
I have high hopes for Emenike and Lawal!!
I think we may have a new Worldstar...But lets wait and see