NAN-S-22
Eagles
By Victor Okoye
Abuja, March 29, 2017 (NAN) Sports enthusiasts on Wednesday said continuity and stability in Super Eagles squad was key for them to secure the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and World Cup tickets.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Nigeria will take on South Africa in their first 2019 AFCON qualifiers in June.
The Super Eagles are in the group with South Africa, Libya and Seychelles in the 2019 AFCON to be staged by 2017 champions, Cameroon.
They will then play home-and-away 2018 FIFA World Cup sessions against Cameroon in August and September, and concluding World Cup qualifiers against Zambia (at home in October) and Algeria (away in November).
Some Nigerian coaches who spoke to NAN on the sideline of the ongoing `CAF “B” Licence Coaching Course’ in Abuja, said there was the need to ensure stability and compatibility in the team.
Emmanuel Iorsar, Coach of Lobi Stars said the Eagles must take every match seriously, adding that preparation was a major factor.
“Every time we assemble players for just two to three days ahead of a match, it is indeed not healthy for the country’s football.
“We must fashion out a way to be able to bring our players together to train for at least one or two weeks ahead of each match.
“Most of them are playing in their individual clubs and what we often see is that they come in and play their individual games and team tactics which they are used to in their various clubs.
“They can hardly play to the instruction of the national team coach because there isn’t enough time for the players to train together and gel.
“So, adequate time must be allocated to the team’s training so as to practice and perfect whatever technical and tactical ideas the coach has to offer the team before a game situation,’’ he said.
He, however, added that he was confident the Super Eagles would scale through all the hurdles and secure the tickets, even though it wasn’t going to be an easy task.
Bala Mohammed, the Technical Adviser of Niger Tornadoes said with adequate preparation and organisation, the Super Eagles would defeat South Africa and also edge pass Cameroon in the World Cup qualifiers.
“Nigeria cannot afford to miss the AFCON again because it’s a big tournament to celebrate African football. I hope we will be there at the next tournament.
“But to do that, we have to eliminate South Africa, which is a good team.
“We also need good preparation and organisation to beat the current African champions to the world cup ticket,’’ he said.
Mohammed urged Coach Gernot Rohr to work on Kelechi Iheanacho’s psychology and temperament to improve the Manchester City forward’s scoring form.
The 21-year-old had missed scoring chances before scoring from the spot to earn the Super Eagles a 1-1 draw against Senegal to preserve team’s unbeaten run.
“I think the 1-1 draw was still okay because we are still enjoying the euphoria of Rohr not losing a game.
“Either by luck, he is still keeping intact the unbeaten run. We can take solace in their form. Showing they are working hard for us to qualify for the World Cup.
“Considering the team we played that is above us in the ranking, I think we are on course. I will advise him (Coach Rohr) to try to, however, make sure 70 per cent of his players play together more often.
“If any new player is coming in, let him try as much as possible to observe very well with too many changes because continuity will be helpful in his success.’’
Chijioke Osuagwu, former Coach of Abia Warriors on his part said Coach Rohr could not afford to be changing his squad because of the limited time at his disposal.
“The qualifiers are just a few months away and so the coach does not have the liberty to keep inviting new faces every day. He must start to work with the players he currently has at his disposal.
“I believe the coach and his technical crew has seen the strength and weaknesses of the team so far.
“So, what they need to start doing is working on all these areas, rather than adding to the squad.
“The cohesiveness have been lacking in the team, it’s a gradual process. They need to harness and have a longer time together in order to have an understanding among themselves.
“There is nothing that beats continuity. It always brings out the best in the team,’’ he said.
He noted that things were different with the Super Eagles team of old which was mostly made up of home-based players, adding that the team was more compact because of the long time they spent together.
“In those days, one could easily close his eyes and predict the team list before the coach releases his official list because these boys were always available in the country to train on a regular basis.
“These days, we have too many foreign based players coming into the squad frequently, which makes it a little difficult for one to predict the coach’s team list.
“I am not in any way faulting the coach’s approach or style, but all I am saying is that our home-based players need to form the core of the squad to encourage stability and compatibility of the team,’’ he said. (NAN)
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Edited by Dorcas Jonah/Ese E. Ekama