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A to Z of WORLD CUP SOUTH AFRICA 2010 - Nigeria
NIGERIA:
Nigeria’s ‘Super Eagles’ will be making their 4th appearance in the World Cup Finals this June. They first qualified in 1994 when they reached the last 16 and were very unlucky not to reach the quarter-finals after Italy’s Roberto Baggio scored his second goal in extra time to snatch a dramatic 2-1 win.
France ’98 saw the Eagles land again and score a major upset in their 3-2 defeat of Spain in the first round. Qualifying for the last 16, their hopes of reaching the quarter-finals were again dashed, this time by a 4-0 thumping at the hands of Denmark. The 2002 Finals in Japan/South Korea proved even more disappointing as they failed to make it beyond Round 1.
After failing to qualify for Germany 2006, Nigerians had to wait until November 2009 for their next dose of World Cup mania when the Super eagles defeated Keyna 3-2 in Nairobi. With qualification to South Africa booked, the stage looked set for an excellent showing in the African Cup of Nations in January 2010. Alas defensive frailties saw the tournament favourites having to settle for a disappointing, at least in their eyes, 3rd place.
One thing the Nigerian and English FA’s have in common is a seeming inability to hang on to key personnel – Chief Executives in England and Managers in Nigeria! Failure to win the January tournament led to the dismissal of national coach Shaibu Amodu. He was Nigeria’s 7th manager in 10 years. His replacement, the Swede Lars Lagerback, beat off competition from his compatriot Sven Goran Eriksson and Glenn Hoddle. He has signed a 5 month contract.
As Africa’s most populous country it is no surprise that Nigeria has a wealth of football talent to call on. Central, in every sense of that term, is captain Joseph Yobo of Everton. Chelsea’s John Obi Mikel will look to dominate the midfield whilst up front there is no shortage of firepower. Spearheading the attack is likely to be Obafemi Martens, late of Newcastle and now with Wolfsburg in Germany. Everton’s Yakubu and Victor Anichebe will add plenty of cutting edge should Martens fail to fire.
Nigeria, ranked 15th in the World, have been drawn in Group B alongside Argentina, Greece and South Korea. Skybet are offering 5/1 on their winning this group: Victor Chandler see them making the last 16 at 11/10. Assuming they do qualify out of the group, bwin have them at 20/1 to reach their first ever World Cup semi-final. If, and it’s a big if, the Super Eagles do soar to the dizzy heights of their avian namesakes, then you can get 100/1 on their winning the cup from Totesport.
Posted: Wednesday, April 7th, 2010 @ 08:04 am by Mark
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