Stephen Keshi has exclusively said that he prefers world cup qualification to the Confederations Cup.
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The Nigerian Super Eagles are currently in camp in Nuremberg, Germany as they prepare for the challenges of World Cup qualifiers against Kenya and Namibia and the Confederation Cup in Brazil all in the month of June.
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The Super Eagles will be competing in the Confederation Cup a fore runner for the World Cup in Brazil. A prestigious tournament for sure but a friendly one in every way.
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So, when we asked Keshi: if you he was to choose now - win the FIFA Confederations Cup or Qualify for World Cup 2014 with the Super Eagles?
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He answered without any hesitation "I will choose qualifying for the World Cup each time. Yes, the FIFA Confederations Cup is also good but nothing beats or compares to FIFA World Cup that is the real deal.
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That is where I aim to be and where I want my players to be playing".
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Keshi and the Super Eagles will probably learn from former African Champions, Egypt who put in so much energy into the Fifa Confederations Cup, South Africa 2009, even causing an upset when they defeated Italy 3-0, only to lose out to Algeria in a bad- tempered qualification play-off that had to be moved to Khartoum, Sudan.
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"Make no mistake we will give the tournament our best shot but it is really to come back next year as one of Africa's representatives at the World Cup that we are working towards" Keshi said.
I agree with Stephen Keshi. But that doesn't mean they should ignore the Confederations Cup cos that is in June.