Nigeria approach Kenya match in fire brigade manner

The Nigeria Football Federation may have given up on Super Eagles’ chances of qualifying for the world cup, with the way we are preparing for the match.

About twenty four hours to the departure of the team for Kenya, only few players are in camp as at Monday. The team will leave on Thursday night.

But NFF spokesperson, Ademola Olajire, said that team skipper Nwankwo Kanu led out 18 other players in the Super Eagles’ first training session at the Aguiyi Ironsi Barracks in Abuja on Tuesday .

Others who trained at the same venue where the Eaglets were training while in the Federal Capital Territory according to Olajire are: goalkeepers Bamidele Aiyenugba and Greg Etafia, defenders Taye Taiwo, Dele Adeleye, Onyekachi Apam, Elderson Echiejile, Joseph Yobo, Obinna Nwaneri and Chidi Odiah, midfielders Yusuf Ayila, Seyi Olofinjana, Mikel Obi, Olufemi Ajilore, Kalu Uche and Osaze Odemwingie, as well as forwards Joseph Akpala, Michael Eneramo and Obinna Nsofor.

Only goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama and strikers Obafemi Martins and Yakubu Aiyegbeni were being expected last night.

The Nigeria Football Federation has concluded arrangements to fly the team to Nairobi on Thursday night aboard a chartered aircraft.

Olajire also described as untrue a report in a national sports paper quoting NFF official as speaking on different starting times for the Kenya-Nigeria match and the Mozambique-Tunisia match.

Olajire said: “I did not talk to anyone about the matches starting at different times.

What I said was that because Mozambique is one hour behind Kenya, the local times will be different.

“The matches are starting at the same time, as the local time for kick -off in Maputo is 15:00 hours and that for Kenya is 16:00 hours. Both matches are kicking off at the same time.”

Nigeria take on Kenya starting from 4pm Kenya time (2pm Nigeria time) on Saturday, while Mozambique take on Tunisia starting from 3pm Mozambique time (2pm Nigeria time).

High Altitude

With the match slated for Saturday in high altitude, the Eagles may have problems adjusting to the climate. Officials of the NFF revealed yesterday on condition of anonymity that the top officials of the federation ignored their advice that the players should camp in Kenya or a neighbouring country in order to acclimatize.

The Nigeria contingent to Kenya will travel in two chartered aircraft. While the Presidential Task Force will be flying in an Arik aircraft, the NFF contingent, including the playing squad, will travel in a Chanchangi Airlines aircraft. There are insinuations that the Task Force and the NFF have gone their seprate ways.

According to reports, the Task Force allocated 50 seats to NFF, but they were said to have turned down the offer because they have a larger contingent.

Akpoborie warns Eagles

Meanwhile, former Eagles’ striker Jonathan Akpoborie has said that Saturday’s game will be tough regardless of the teams and their pedigrees..

“When I played, the calibre of players I played with were quite different from what we have now, although they still have the same trainer.

“Looking at football, that should be a little bit of advantage but having said that, our situation is not really the best now, although that time they could not lose the game because if we had lost, it would have been more difficult for us to qualify. We had that in mind when we went into the game,” Akpobirie told journalists in Lagos.

He recalled that the Kenyan pitch could be difficult to play on from experience. “It was very diffic ult because they took us to a pitch where we could not control the ball beca use they knew all our players were coming from Europe. It is going to be a very difficult game. We should go there and play as a team because if we go there and play individual football, it will be hard for us,” he said.