W/Cup play-offs: Eagles may be seeded

[Mirror]

...Draw holds Sept 16 Nigeria would be seeded for the final play-offs if the Super Eagles win the Africa Group F of the FIFA 2014 World Cup qualifying.

FIFA said in a statement yesterday that the 2014 World Cup Local Organising Committee (LOC) has set the dates for the draws of the African qualifying third round and the European play-off stage.

The African draw will be made on September 16 at the Confederation of African Football (CAF) headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, at which the group winners of the second qualifying round will know their rivals for one of the continent's five berths at the Mundial in Brazil next year.

The world soccer governing body added that the five bestplaced sides in the September 12, 2013 edition of the FIFA/Coca- Cola World Ranking will be seeded for the draw.

Also, the eight best group runners-up in European qualifying will find out who blocks their paths to one of the last four European tickets to Brazil 2014 on October 21.

The draw will take place at the Home of FIFA in Zurich. The four highest-placed teams in the October 17 edition of the FIFA/ Coca-Cola World Ranking will be seeded in the draw.

Going by the latest FIFA ranking, Nigeria is rated fourth in Africa behind, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana and Mali in that order.

Meanwhile, the President of the Republic of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, is set to host the Cranes for dinner next week.

After the Cranes 2-1 victory over Angola in a 2014 World Cup qualifier last weekend, President Museveni was very impressed and promised to host the team at his State House in Entebbe.

Museveni who also played football in High School is said to have telephoned on match day to wish the team success.

National Mirror

[Folami David]

World Cup qualifiers can hold for now so we can focus on the Confederations Cup. We need to go far in that competition.

[Shola Sholaz]

The confederations cup is going on well for Nigeria so far so Nigerians are happy. Let's see what would happen against Uruguay.