Kanu’s last World Cup dream

After making just two starts in 12 world cup qualifiers, Super Eagles captain, Nwankwo Kanu’s revelation that he would retire from international football at the end of the 2010 World Cup has sparked off criticisms.

The Portsmouth striker is hoping to lead Nigeria to South Africa next year after our Eagles secured their place at the Mundial on the final day of their qualifying campaign with a victory over Kenya in Nairobi as rivals Tunisia suffered defeat against Mozambique in Maputo. However, analysts say there is no reason why anyone, including Kanu, should think he deserves an automatic ticket.

Making it to South Africa

Kanu is one of Africa’s most celebrated footballers, having been named the CAF Player of the Year twice in an eventful career that has also seen him win the UEFA Champions League with Ajax Amsterdam. He has also won domestic titles with Arsenal and Portsmouth in England. However, a close look at his contribution towards our qualification suggests that the former Arsenal forward would need to show that he deserves a place in the team by having more games under his belt at both club and national team levels, especially if a new coach is appointed to take the team to the South Africa.

Commenting on Nigeria’s preparation for the World Cup, former Eagle winger, Dimeji Lawal said the Super Eagles, Nigeria Football Federation and the technical crew have a lot to do if Nigeria must make a positive impact at the global football show. According to him, instead of bowing to sentiments in the selection of squads, the administrators should base the process strictly on merit.

“We have a lot of work to do on our hands and we need to start now. We have the Nations Cup ahead of us and I think it should be a good opportunity for us to prepare for the World Cup: if we handle it well,fine,” said the former Shooting Stars midfielder.

“It is the dream of every player to be at the World Cup but we need to ensure that we put our best players who have shown they deserve their place at that level and we can only do well if we show a very good organisation in preparing for these two competitions,” he said.

Kanu’s appearances

At his present club, Portsmouth, Kanu has been mostly used as a substitute, starting only one Premier League game out of 12. The story is similarly at the country level where Kanu made only three substitute appearances for the Eagles in the last phase of the World Cup qualifiers. He made two starts, away to Sierra Leone and at home to Equatorial Guinea, in the 12 games the Eagles played in the entire qualifying campaign.