With less than 100 days to the start of the World Cup in Brazil, the Super Eagles have stepped up preparation for the quadrennial championship with a series of friendly matches.
Beside the Mexico engagement which took place on Wednesday in Atlanta in the United States (early hours of Thursday in Nigeria), other matches lined up to test and strengthen the team for the battle ahead include Scotland, Greece and the United States between May 28 and June 3.
Keshi’s list for the Mexico tie which generated some controversy since it is seen as crucial for those who will make the cut, has seen Joseph Yobo dropped. The Norwich defender who had not featured for the Super Eagles since the African Nations Cup triumph in 2013 in South Africa, but was recalled for Mexico, copped a late injury. Leon Balogun who plays in the lower division in Germany was called up as replacement.
Other than that and Bright Dike who also suffered an injury which ruled him out of contention for the World Cup,, the team remained intact for the El Tri encounter.
Keshi himself defended the list in the face of criticisms especially with the exclusion of certain players and the recall of one or two others. He maintains that he will keep inviting players with an eye for the future.
“The players I have invited are the ones we are looking at in the next 4 -5 years as we are trying to build a team not just for tomorrow but for the future”
If we get any young player that is good, then we bring him in now so that he can start gaining valuable experience but a lot of Nigerians do not want that, they want you to assemble a team now and win everything tomorrow but football doesn’t work like that”
There is no over emphasising the fact that the friendly matches will be key in the run in to the World Cup in deciding the final team.
“Friendly matches are important part of football. They help a coach make decision about players he may not otherwise have the opportunity of seeing in match situations,” say former Super Eagles striker Jonathan Akpoborie.
“We have a lot of players in Nigeria, unfortunately a lot of them are not playing in their clubs, so the more the firendlies the better for the coach as they will help him make decisions regarding who to pick for the World Cup.
“My only hope is that Keshi uses the opportunity of the friendly matches to pick the right players. I am saying this because someone like Ikechukwu Uche has been repeatedly left out. Yet this is Nigeria’s best forward at the moment. So it becomes difficult to understand the reason for not picking him. The excuse of indiscipline will not wash because if he was not a disciplined player it would have surfaced long before now.”
Similarly, Head Coach of the Golden Eaglets Emmanuel Amuneke is also very excited about the array of friendly encounters lined up for the Super Eagles ahead of the Mundial.
“Yes it is a good thing to engage in friendly matches. We know Mexico very well; we have played them in the past. Of course matches like that help to test preparedness of our team,” says Amuneke.
“Having said that, I should add that such encounters are not necessarily must win ones, but they are platforms to correct lapses discovered. It is left for the coach to understand.
“I’ve heard a lot of things being said about Iran and Bosnia and how they will be a walkover, but nothing can be more wrong. This is the World Cup, no team is a walkover. Don’t forget these team played qualifiers and they made it; so they must be treated with respect. What we have to do is build our team in such a way that we will be ready for any oppositions, and these friendly matches will be crucial in this regard.”
