Expectations For Q3 (I)

Personally, I am pleased that within the month, we have been able to turn back Rwanda and make it to the last qualifying series for the 2013 African Cup of Nations, and that the Super Eagles are at the top of their qualifying pool for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil, and that the Super […]

Personally, I am pleased that within the month, we have been able to turn back Rwanda and make it to the last qualifying series for the 2013 African Cup of Nations, and that the Super Eagles are at the top of their qualifying pool for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil, and that the Super Falcons have qualified for the 2012 African Women Championship alongside playing two useful friendly matches against the Banyana Banyana of South Africa – who are going to the Olympic Games.

In the real sense of it, you would want to quarrel with the gaffe that robbed us of two huge points in Blantyre, but when you reflect that it could have been worse, you relax and plan for the better next time. One big lesson this administration has learnt is that qualifying games do not provide rooms for errors and commissions that do not help the overall result.

As the third quarter of the year unfolds tomorrow, it is important that we take stock of what has been in the first half of the year and what we look forward to in the last half, which takes in the third and final quarters.

In the past six months, we have been able to earn tickets to THREE important women’s championships – FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup; FIFA U-17 Women’s World and; African Women Championship, alongside delightful gains made in the rebuilding process of the Super Eagles and the formation of new youth teams in the men’s category.

The year opened with the home-based contingent, who had been in camp for one month, holding Angola’s all-star and African Cup of Nations-bound team to a 0-0 draw in a friendly at the National Stadium, Abuja (January 11). The Eagles then went to Monrovia to spank the Lone Star 2-0 in another friendly (February 15).

In-between, the Flamingos (U-17 Girls) battered their Kenyan counterparts home and away in the qualifying series for FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Azerbaijan 2012. Ultimately, the girls bashed 7-1 on aggregate in the final qualifying round to reach the finals of a tournament for which they had participated in the first two editions – New Zealand 2008 and Trinidad and Tobago 2010.

Also in-between those Flamingos’ feats we attended the CAF Congress in Libreville where there was some regret by the universal crowd that the Super Eagles were not at the African Cup of Nations party. These gave us greater impetus to work up determination to ensure that such mishap would never happen again. And also, the Super Eagles, with home boys getting a good look-in and made to feel part of the whole, drew 0-0 with Rwanda in Kigali in an African Cup of Nations qualifier.

On the whole, the Falconets (U-20 Girls) swept past Sierra Leone (withdrew), Zimbabwe (6-0 aggregate) and DR Congo (7-0 aggregate) to qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup Japan 2012. The Falcons have also defeated Zimbabwe home and away (6-0 aggregate) to make it to the AWC finals in Equatorial Guinea.

The Super Eagles lost two friendly matches (0-1 to Peru in Lima and 2-3 to Egypt in Dubai) but those narrow defeats were in the rebuilding process and have helped toughened the squad especially as they brought home several lessons. Surely, the defeats of Namibia and Rwanda and away draw to Malawi have also brought their own basket of lessons.

As we step into the new quarter, the immediate focus is the Draw for the final qualification series for 2013 African Cup of Nations, which will take place in Johannesburg, South Africa on Friday next week.

Jokingly, members of NFF Executive Committee and management have been looking at the Pot 2 with a lot of interest. The way it is, Nigeria is in Pot 1 (loaded to the hilt with big guns of the African game) and will therefore avoid these so-called big guns. But as I said after the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil qualifier in Blantyre, football is no longer the same and anyone thinking he has ‘minnows’ to deal with at any point in time will be wide open for a sucker punch.

I have looked at the Pot 2 myself with a lot interest, but we have to give a lot of respect to teams like Morocco, Senegal, Libya, Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia. There are also Niger, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Togo, Cape Verde, Liberia, Sierra Leone,

Uganda, Zimbabwe and Central African Republic, if the last team does the unexpected and eliminates Egypt today.

The Pharaohs have a real scare to deal with. Having failed (like Nigeria, Cameroon, Algeria and South Africa) to reach the 2012 African Nations Cup finals in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, they are in danger of missing out for the second successive time after losing 3-2 to Central African Republic in the first leg in Alexandria two weeks ago.

Today’s return leg in Bangui portends huge excitement around African and global football circles for the entire 90 minutes. Here is wishing former NFF President and CAF Match Commissioner, Brigadier-General Dominic Oneya (rtd), who is the Match Commissioner for today’s showdown, al the best in Bangui.

Once we know which team we are facing in the final qualification race which first leg holds in September and second leg in October, it would be easier to plan ahead, in terms of planning, friendly matches and logistics.

Three days later, Nigeria is also a name in the pot (only 16 from all

over the world) at the Official Draw for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup finals in Azerbaijan. The Head Coach and Team Secretary will be there to witness the event and visit the centres where Nigeria will play.

With the Super Falcons having qualified for the AWC finals, it is also important to get the Flying Eagles to qualify for the 2013 African Youth Championship. Both are defending African champions. In fact, Nigeria is the ONLY country in Africa with two teams as continental

Cup holders!

The Flying Eagles start their race to Algeria 2013 with a qualifying fixture against Tanzania (who shocked Sudan), with the first leg in Dar es Salaam on July 28. The return leg is in Nigeria two weeks later. The NFF has been giving Coach John Obuh all the support and we expect a much-improved side from the squad that failed to impress at the Cape Town International Challenge in May.

The major news during the week was the planned friendly match between the home-based Super Eagles contingent and English Premiership club, Arsenal FC in Abuja on Sunday, August 5.

I am happy that has been sealed. The major challenge now is to ensure that we get a quality team to play during the FIFA Free Day of August 15, which is only 10 days after the Arsenal match and which will help the Eagles prepare well for the 2013 Nations Cup qualifier in

September.

NEXT WEEK: Expectations For Q3 (2)