There are mixed reactions about the Nigerian match with Algeria which ended in favour of Nigeria as she won the match with 2-1. Here are the reactions of the head coaches of the two countries. “First, I congratulate Nigeria on the victory. I’m not satisfied with the outcome of the meeting, because we had the game in hand. We played well. This is the highest level. In football, there are errors that can be very costly, and they cost us dearly. My players committed two individual errors that offered two goals to Nigeria. Now it’s back to work and prepare…
Author: CAF News
Here are the reactions of the two coaches of the players involving a clash that led to Senegal 0 – 1 Nigeria. Samson Siasia (Head Coach, Nigeria) I’m very happy to win against Senegal again after the Africa Cup of Nations in 1992 and achieving our objective, which was to qualify for the Olympics. I think the ‘gods of football’ were with my team today because Senegal created most of the chances but they failed to score. Emmanuel Daniel (Goalkeeper) kept us in the match as he made some brilliant saves today. On another day, we could’ve been embarrassed. We did…
Samson Siasia (Head Coach, Nigeria) I congratulate my team for not conceding and qualifying for the semi-finals. The most important was to qualify and we have achieved it. We wish we could garner the three points but I’m happy with qualifying and getting closer to Rio de Janeiro. I would have preferred to play Senegal in the final but I have to do at the semis. It will be a great match because they will have the public behind them and we have to play and win. At the Africa Cup of Nations in 1992, I scored here (Leopold Sedar…
Algeria and Nigeria booked their places at the semis after a barren draw in Dakar on Saturday, whilst Egypt was sent packing after a 1-0 loss to Mali in M’Bour. Mali, out of contention after defeats in their previous two games, bowed out on a high note with victory thanks to a Ragab Abdelnabi own goal that saw them exit together with Egypt, who needed a win to keep alive their hopes. Algeria and Nigeria finished on five points apiece, Mali on three and Egypt in that order with two points. The Pharaohs of Egypt were stunned by ‘Les Aiglons’…
Samson Siasia (Head Coach, Nigeria) says “We did not play in the second half and we cannot continue like this, if we want to go to the Olympics. We have to be careful. We tend to lose concentration in the second half and have to fix it. It was the case in the first game against Mali and the same thing happened against Egypt. It is no longer funny. It will be a tough battle against Algeria, and we have to be careful about the North African sides, they attack left and right.” Hossam Al Badri (Head Coach, Egypt) says…
Egypt came from two goals down to hold Nigeria to a 2-2 draw in their Group B Day two clash on Wednesday at the Caroline Faye Stadium, M’Bour. Midfielder Etebo Peter Oghenekaro converted two penalties to give Nigeria a 2-0 lead at half time, but the Pharaohs responded strongly in the second half and neutralized the scores courtesy Ramadan Sobhi Ahmed and substitute Mamdouh El Sayed. The result leaves Nigeria, Algeria and Egypt in contention for the group’s two tickets for the next round. Algeria and Nigeria share top spot with four points apiece, Egypt has two points and Mali…
“We started very badly, but in the second half we played collectively. We lifted up our game and scored twice. We could have equalized but we failed to convert some of the chances. Such is football; you get punished if you fail to take your chances. Our next game against Algeria will be equally difficult. They are beatable but we have to avoid mistakes like we did today.” – Cheick Oumar Kone (Head Coach, Mali) “It was a difficult match. We played very well in the beginning and scored three goals. The defenders made two mistakes which cost us, and they…
Three teams namely Egypt, Mali and Nigeria have made changes to their squad lists ahead of the opening matches of the U-23 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Senegal 2015. The changes were done in accordance with Article 66.2 of the regulations of the tournament which states “A player on the final list cannot be replaced unless seriously injured at the latest twenty-four hours (24) at least before the beginning of the first match of his team. The CAF medical Committee must approve his substitution in writing, after reception and approval of a detailed medical certificate. CAF medical Committee shall write…
When Nigeria lifted the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile earlier this month, it was the side’s record fifth time – 30 years on from their first success at what was then the U-16 World Championship in China. In between those successes the Nigerians have dominated the event, reaching eight finals, including four of the last five. Disappointingly for Nigerian fans, the country has not been able to repeat that success at other levels. The country’s U-20 team has twice made it to the U-20 World Cup final, losing both, while the Super Eagles have qualified for the finals of the…
There are over 3,000 miles between Onitsha in Nigeria and Birmingham in England, the journey made by Carl Ikeme’s father in order to receive the university education he wanted. A little more than 30 years later, Ikeme Jnr is making this long trip in reverse in order to keep goal for the Super Eagles. With an entirely different atmosphere to what he has been used to in the dressing room, the Wolverhampton Wanderers goalkeeper, 29, has been receiving an education all of his own, which he was happy to share with FIFA.com before ™ qualifier against Swaziland. In this exclusive interview, Ikeme talks…
Patience is a virtue that Orji Okwonkwo can certainly call upon. Before Nigeria’s crucial semi-final showdown against Mexico, the No20 had played just 25 minutes in the tournament, coming off the bench in stoppage time in the Golden Eaglets’ opener before two 12-minute cameos against Australia and Brazil in games whose decisive moments had already passed. “I’m not the coach,” Okwonkwo said. “[Emmanuel Amuneke] knows what is best for the team. That’s why he put me on the bench. But he chose to put me on the pitch from the start against Mexico and that was an honour and a…
The story was written a thousand miles from home, but its echo was resonating throughout Africa, with highest frequency in Bamako, the Malian capital, where thousands took to the streets despite being in the wee hours of the night. This reflects no doubt the historic and unprecedented nature of what had happened with the qualification of the national U-17 team to the final of the FIFA U-17 World Cup underway in Chile. A first for a Malian side, which made history on 1 March 2015 in Niamey, Niger, by being crowned African champions for the first time. It is in…
Here are the top 10 nominees for the two categories; African Player of the Year 2015 and African Player of the Year (Based in Africa) 2015. The winner will be decided by votes of the Coaches or Technical Directors of the National Associations affiliated to CAF. The awards gala will be held on Thursday, 7 January 2016 in Abuja, Nigeria. African Player of the Year 2015 André Ayew (Ghana & Swansea) Aymen Abdennour (Tunisia & Valencia) Mudather Eltaib Ibrahim ‘Karika’ (Sudan & El Hilal) Mohamed Salah (Egypt & Roma) Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon & Borussia Dortmund) Sadio Mané (Senegal & Southampton) Serge…
THE DAY REPLAYED – Holders Nigeria dented Brazil’s profligacy and strolled into the last-four with a 3-0 victory, while Mali maintained their impressive defensive record to progress to their first FIFA U-17 World Cup semi-final courtesy of a tightly-contested 1-0 win over Croatia. Three goals in five first-half minutes undid a positive start for Brazil, sending a stunned A Seleção home. Victor Osimhen, with his eighth goal in five games, Kingsley Michael and Udochukwu Anumudu hit the quickfire treble for the African side, with the rest of the game a mere procession for the four-time champions as they secured their passage to the final four.…
It would be stretching the truth a little to say that Nigeria playmaker and captain Kelechi Nwakali already knows what it means to win the FIFA U-17 World Cup. “I was in the pre-World Cup training squad in 2013 but I didn’t make the squad that went on to win the trophy,” he explained in an interview with FIFA.com. “My brother Chidiebere was there, though, and of course I felt proud and happy for the other players.” Nor did Nwakali have the opportunity to travel to United Arab Emirates to cheer on his brother, a defender who contributed two goals to the…
With seven goals in four matches at the 2015 FIFA Under-17 World Cup underway in Chile, Victor Osimhen, the bean-pole Nigerian striker sits atop of the scoring chart, justifying claims that he is indeed one for the future. Osimhen is living his dream and breathing his favourite song ‘sitting on the throne’ by popular Nigerian act ,Olamide who rapped inter alia ‘I’m a king and I don’t joke with my name…..Hun!…I’m sitting on the throne’ “I really hustled on the streets of Lagos and toyed with the idea of doing so many things initially,” Osimhen, the last child in a…
Reigning FIFA U-17 World Cup champions Nigeria advanced to a quarter-final meeting against Brazil on the back of a hat-trick from the impressive Victor Osimhen, ending Australia’s run with a one-sided 6-0 victory in Vina Del Mar. The tale of the first half was compacted into a three-minute period as Nigeria scored twice sandwiched either side of a gilt-edged opening for Australia. It was 2-0 at the interval, and the game was still a contest until the final 17 minutes before Nigeria ran riot against an Australian side looking flat after surviving the ‘group of death’. The Aussies started in pro-active…
Emmanuel Amuneke was an assistant coach the last time Nigeria won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He was promoted to Head Coach early March 2014 and successfully secured the Golden Eaglets’ ticket for the 16th edition of the global cadet completion which Nigeria has won a record four times following the successes recorded in 1985, 1993, 2007 and 2013. On the eve of the team’s departure from their training camp in Buenos Aires, Argentina for the World Cup finals, Amuneke in a special interview with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) website, www.thenff.com, discussed virtually…
Holders Nigeria has opened a training camp in Buenos Aires, Argentina ahead of the impending FIFA U-17 World Cup scheduled for 17 October to 8 November in Chile. The Golden Eaglets are based at a training facility called Buenos Aires Futbol, located on the outskirts of the capital and owned by former Argentine international, Matias Almeyda. Nigeria coach Emmanuel Amuneke told cafonline.com his team would spend two weeks before departing for Santiago for the World Cup. The West Africans are drawn alongside hosts Chile, USA and Croatia in Group A and will start their campaign on October 17 against USA.…
The “Les Elephantes” of Cote d’Ivoire achieved a historic feat beating power-house Nigeria’s Super Falcons 2-1 on Thursday in Brazzaville to claim bronze at the 11th African Games Brazzaville 2015. It was the first time ‘Les Elephantes’ were competing at the multisport event and they bowed out high with a place on the podium at the expense of reigning African champions, the Super Falcons. The victory was enough for the Ivorians to seal their authority over the high flying Nigerians, after beating them by a similar margin at the group phase. Again it was the Falcons who went up early in…