Super Eagles Head Coach,
Stephen Okechukwu Keshi,
was a sober figure after the
team lost 3-0 to Spain in its
last group game on Sunday
and thus crashed out of the
Confederations Cup in
Brazil.
SR Sports learned that the
manager has already
started a post mortem. He
is quoted as saying that
despite the confidence he
had expressed about
suitable replacements for
his injured players, it
turned out that injuries
actually determined the
fate of the Super Eagles at
the tournament.
“I can’t imagine that my
top striker Emmanuel
Emenike will miss some of
the goals that we missed
and even Ogenyi Onazi was
sorely missed,” a source
quoted him as saying,
“Victor Moses would have
ruined any team here and
of course several other
players that should have
been here could not make
it due to injuries. Among
them, United States-based
Bright Dike.”
Appealing to Nigerians to
forgive the team for the
less-than-average
performance at the
tournament, Keshi is
looking forward to the
World Cup, also in Brazil, in
2014. “We want to come
back here next year and
make an impact. This is a
dress rehearsal and I can
assure that the Super
Eagles will be among the
top nations when the Brazil
2014 World Cup starts.”
Keshi is further said to
have spoken about “fresh
options” for the national
team when the team
assembles for the final
World Cup group qualifing
match against Malawi in
September, but did not
specify what those options
are.
On his next challenge,
Keshi is preparing to work
to ensure that Nigeria
qualifies for the African
Nations championships
meant for players playing in
local African leagues
(CHAN).
“We would go back home
take a few days rest and
prepare for our CHAN
qualifiers against Cote
d’Ivoire in the coming days
and hopefully we should be
able to make it through,”
he said.http://mobile.saharareporters.com/sports-page/keshi-humbled-confed-cup-exit-promises-stronger-super-eagles