Segun Agbede
The
Super Eagles will be making their debut at the third edition of the
16-nation Championship of African Nations (CHAN) between January the
11 and February 1, 2014. It is a tournament designed specifically for
players plying their trade in their domestic leagues. Tunisia beat
Angola 3-0 in the final of the last edition of the tournament in
Sudan in February 2011. Unfortunately, the reigning champions failed
to qualify for next year’s edition in South Africa and will be unable
to defend their title.
Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi has done his
best to lower the nation’s expectations on winning CHAN, as well he
should. The Eagles are in the tough Group A comprising hosts South
Africa, Mozambique and Mali.
Group B features Zimbabawe, Uganda,
Burkina Faso and Morocco. Group C has Ghana, Congo, Libya and Ethiopia.
To compete in Group D are DR Congo, Gabon, Burundi and Mauritania.
This is probably the most open group in the tournament. Groups A and B
are based in Cape Town, while Groups C and D are based in Manguang and
Polokwane, respectively.
The Eagles are undoubtedly going to face stern challenges in South Africa. This is due to different factors.
The bulk of the squad that enabled
qualification for CHAN have since moved to the European clubs. Once a
player signs for a foreign club he becomes ineligible for CHAN.
Ironically, the scenario could still
play itself out right up to the eve of the tournament as the winter
transfer window opens on January 3. There is a distinct possibility
that some players, who are key to Keshi’s plans, may sign for foreign
clubs before our opening match against Mali. An example of this is
Kelechi Iheanacho, who left the Eagles camp in Abuja last week to sign
for English Premier League club Manchester City.
This has left Keshi with another
challenge, a relatively inexperienced squad with minimal time to
prepare them for a major tournament.
The dysfunctionality of the Nigerian
Premier League has also made Keshi’s task harder. None of his players
have kicked a ball in anger since the league ended in October due to the
wrangling between the League Management Committee and the
inappropriately named club owners. The league was initially slated to
start in November but has been suspended till after CHAN. That means all
our players will be going to South Africa lacking a competitive edge
and match fitness.
Despite the challenges the squad is
facing, Nigerians still remain expectant and relatively confident of a
credible outing. As defending African champions, we stand a chance of
creating history by becoming the first country to hold both continental
titles simultaneously. Nevertheless, win or lose, I’m really looking
forward to CHAN, to seeing our boys going up against the very best,
Africa has to offer. It will also give us a viable indication of the
strength of our league. Going forward, the bedrock of our national team
should be the domestic league players.
Keshi has three matches and a maximum
of six to see what his boys are capable of. It is my fervent belief
that at least three players will emerge from CHAN to challenge in the
regular Super Eagles for a first team spot and a seat on that plane to
Brazil for the World Cup.
Two of the Eagles mainstays Mikel Obi of
Chelsea and Liverpool’s Victor Moses, find themselves on the fringes of
their first teams. Mikel, through no fault of his, doesn’t feature in
Jose Mourinho’s plans at present due to a glut of midfielders at his
disposal. Moses’ case is a little bit more worrisome. He seems to have
suffered a drop in form for both club and country.
Moses was virtually
anonymous in both legs of our final World Cup qualifying tie against
Ethiopia, although he did raise his game against Italy in the friendly
at Craven Cottage, London. Watching Moses come on as a substitute in the
85th minute, when Liverpool already had a 5-0 lead over hapless
Spurs, made me wonder how far he has fallen in the pecking order at
Liverpool. In a game two stalwarts of the team in Steven Gerrard and
Daniel Sturridge were out injured, teenage Raheem Sterling was
preferred to Moses. That speaks volumes about Brendan Rodgers’ faith
(or lack of ) in Moses.
The World Cup bound Eagles lack a
creative spark in the middle of the park, it seemed Sunday Mba was fated
to fill that role after his stellar performances at the Africa Cup of
Nations in South Africa but his career has stalled somewhat due to his
inability to play regular club football. I’m hoping the next Jay Jay
Okocha and Nwankwo Kanu can stand up to be recognised over three weeks
in January.
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