With the Super Eagles defeat of the Red Devils of Congo by 2 – 0, the stage is finally set for an historic encounter with the Bafanan Bafana of South Africa on Wednesday, the 19th of November at the Akwa Ibom Stadium, the Nest of Champions in Uyo.

Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Mr. Aniekan Umanah, while reacting to the hard-won victory of the Super Eagles over the Red Devils at Point Noire, Saturday afternoon, said “the match against the South Africans will be a memorable one for all Nigerians, as all logistic arrangements have been completed to ensure a hitch-free encounter between the two sides on Wednesday.”

According to him, tickets for the last qualifying match for the Super Eagles in Group A of the 2015 AFCON qualifiers are being sold at designated banks and local government headquarters across the State. He added that while tickets for the popular side go for N500, tickets for the State Box go for N3000 each.

Mr. Umanah who expressed happiness over the well-deserved victory of Nigeria over the Congolese, mentioned that the triumphant Eagles will be received by ecstatic supporters when they arrive Uyo , Akwa Ibom State Capital.

It would be recalled that the Super Eagles suffered a 2-3 loss to the Red Devils during their first leg encounter of the AFCON qualifiers at the U. J. Esuene Stadium in Calabar last September 6, thus putting dimming Nigeria’s chances of qualifying for the 2015 Nations Cup.

A win for the Super Eagles in Wednesday’s encounter against the Bafana Bafana is very crucial, as the last encounter between the two sides last September 10, in South Africa ended in a goalless draw.

The Confederation of African Football, CAF, confirmed the 30,000 capacity Akwa Ibom International Stadium as venue for the November 19 cracker when a delegation of the Continental football body, led by the vice-president of the Ghana Football Association, Mr. Fred Crentsil inspected the facility.

Mr. Crentsil, during the inspection, remarked that “You guys have a wonderful facility here. It is one of the best I have seen anywhere around Africa and elsewhere.

The Akwa Ibom International Stadium was inaugurated November 7, by President Goodluck Jonathan, GCFR, in company of President John Mahama of Ghana and President Alassane Ouattara of Cote D’ivoire, with the Super Eagles recording a 1 -0 victory over the U-23 side of Ghana, the Black Meteors in an international friendly to commemorate the occasion.

http://akwaibomstate.gov.ng/akwa-ibom-agog-for-super-eagles-match/

Stephen Keshi's men landed in Uyo for their crucial last group game with the Bafana Bafana after taming the Red Devils on Saturday

Nigeria senior national team on Sunday morning arrived Uyo ahead of their must-win crucial 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying game against South Africa on Wednesday.

The African Champions will host the Bafana Bafana at the 'Nest of Champions' after they amended their fast fading qualifying chances with a 2-0 demolition of the Red Devils of Congo at their backyards with Ikechukwu Uche and Aaron Samuel providing the essential lift in Pointe Noire on Saturday.

The Super Eagles returned to the country around 10pm on Saturday evening abroad from Congo via a chartered Discovery Airliner and arrived at about 1:45am on Sunday morning in the Akwa Ibom State capital city.

Those that returned with the flight were coach Stephen Keshi and his 25 players, assistant coaches, backroom staff, nine journalists and 30 supporters.

Others on board were also the chairman senate committee on sports, Ibrahim Gumba, Member of Committee on Sports in House of Representatives Mudashiru Oyetunde alongside the NFF President Amaju Pinnick.

After the victory in Pointe Noire, Nigeria move to second with seven points, while Congo dropped to third with same points but separated by goal difference.

http://www.goal.com/en-ng/news/4687/2015-afcon-qualification/2014/11/16/6190031/eagles-land-in-uyo-for-south-africa

South Africa will bring 'best team' in Nigeria clash, says coach Mashaba

South Africa coach Shakes Mashaba has expressed his great delight after guiding the Bafana Bafana to the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations finals and vowed to show his team's best against Nigeria.
South Africa ensured their place in the finals in Equatorial Guinea after beating Sudan 2-1 on Saturday.

Mashaba hailed his players after the precious victory, insisting he was impressed with their display throughout the qualifiers.

"I am glad to have seen the boys play the kind of football they played after a very long time. There was everything you would have asked for as a coach," Mashaba was quoted as saying by the South African Football Association's (SAFA) official website.

"But we nearly gave it away towards the end of the game, the players all switched off and went to sit at the back and we invited trouble, but we managed to hold up," he added.

South Africa face Nigera in the last round of the qualifiers. The Super Eagles are in a must-win situation to snatch the second Group A ticket to next year's finals.

"I would like to say congratulations to the players. We are still left with one game, against Nigeria. I know people will think it is going to be a walkover. No, we are going to put out our best team," the coach said.

"It is more than three points at stake when we go to Nigeria. It's going to be another tough game like the one we played today, which many thought was going to be easy. Thanks to all the supporters, their presence helped us conquer," he added.

Saturday's goal was the first time South Africa had conceded in five matches of the qualifiers, with seven goals scored.

"Obviously we would have loved to round off the qualifiers without conceding any goals, but that doesn't matter. Now we have qualified and it's the most important thing now. It has been a long time since we qualified for this prestigious tournament," explained Mashaba.

"It was good to revive the good old memories of qualifying. We are not going to Equatorial Guinea to make up the numbers. We have to go there and compete, and bring back our image as one of the good teams on the continent. Thanks also to the South African Football Association (SAFA) for the assistance as well as the sponsors," the coach concluded.

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/6/54/115680/Sports/Africa/South-Africa-will-bring-best-team-in-Nigeria-clash.aspx

Akpabio, Uyo people eager to see Eagles

Akwa Ibom State Governor,Godswill Akpabio, has con­gratulated the Super Ea­gles for their impressive 2-0 victory over Congo at the weekend.

Nigeria defeated Congo in Pointe Noire to be back on track for a place in the Africa Nations Cup Finals scheduled to hold between January 17 and February 8 in Equatorial Guinea.

Akpabio, speaking through the state commis­sioner for information, An­iekan Umanah, said that the Eagles displayed guts and determination to get the de­sired result in the encounter.

“We prayed for the vic­tory because anything short of that could have made the match coming up against South Africa on Wednesday irrelevant,” he said.

Umanah said the gover­nor was so elated and has promised to host the Eagles after completing the quali­fication task against the Bafana Bafana on Wednes­day.

“Governor Akpabio ex­pects a resounding victory on Wednesday after which there will be an “uncom­mon” reception for the members of the national team at the government house in Uyo,” he added.

Umanah stressed that the people of Uyo are ready and eager to watch the Super Eagles play on Wednesday.

The Nigeria, South Africa match holds at the newly inaugurated Akwa Ibom In­ternational Stadium in Uyo. The match starts 5pm.

http://sunnewsonline.com/new/?p=91328

S/Africa Sweat On Star Striker Vs Nigeria

Bafana Bafana striker Lehlohonolo Majoro will be assessed ahead of Bafana Bafana’s final Afcon qualifier against Nigeria on Wednesday.

South Africa qualified for finals in Equatorial Guinea for the first time since 2008 with a 2-1 victory over Sudan, but were without the injured Majoro in their match day squad.

The Orlando Pirates striker was ruled out after he failed to recover from an ankle injury picked up during training, and it remains to be seen whether or not he will be fit for Bafana’s dead-rubber against the Super Eagles.

When asked if ‘Major’ would be ruled out of Wednesday’s clash as well, coach Shakes Mashaba told KickOff.com, “I won’t said that.

“I don’t want to get ahead of myself. The medical staff will deal with him and will come back to us with feedback.”

Majoro, 28, was called up as backup for Mashaba’s preferred starting forwards Bongani Ndulula and Tokelo Rantie.

Having already qualified for next year’s tournament, it is believed Mashaba may give some of his fringe players a run against Nigeria, yet Majoro’s availability for selection for the encounter remains in doubt.

http://completesportsnigeria.com/safrica-sweat-star-striker-vs-nigeria/

Eguavoen: Eagles Must Beat S/Africa

–Says last match very important to Eagles qualification

Following Nigeria’s 2-0 victory over the Red Devils of Congo, former Super Eagles coach Austin Eguavoen has charged the senior national team to continue to work hard until they finally get the 2015 African Cup of Nations ticket as he commended the efforts of the players in ensuring they secured victory in the away match.

Goals from Villarreal of Spain striker Ike Uche and Aron Samuel helped the Super Eagles to return home with the maximum points, there returning the team on track for the African showpiece.

And Eguavoen believes that the job is not yet completed until Nigeria has finally qualified for the Nations Cup.

“It is a good effort and we must commend the players for the result, it was not easy going away to win but these boys did it and I think we should praise them for that but having said that, I still believe that the job is not yet completed yet, they still need to work harder because the last match will be tough,” says Eguavoen.

“With the way things are now, it is sure that Nigeria will be in Equatorial Guinea but they should not underrate South Africa because that is the match that will decide the fate of the team.

The Super Eagles, who returned to Nigeria in the early hours of Sunday after the away win, will take on the Bafana Bafana of South Africa on Wednesday in the last game of the 2015 African Cup of Nations qualifiers.


http://completesportsnigeria.com/eguavoen-eagles-must-beat-safrica/

[size=15pt]CAF picks Mauritian referees, as Bafana fly in on Monday[/size]

THE Confederation of African Football has picked Rajindraparsad Seechurn of Mauritius as Referee for Wednesday’s 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier between Nigeria and South Africa in Uyo.
Seechurn will be assisted by fellow countrymen, Balkrishna Bootun as Assistant Referee 1, Vivian Vally as Assistant Referee 2 and Parmendra Nunkoo as Reserve Referee. To underscore the importance of the match, CAF has appointed Cameroonian Abel Mbengue as Security Officer, to assist the Match Commissioner, Laryea Louis from Ghana.
Meanwhile, the delegation of the Bafana Bafana to Wednesday’s match will arrive in Uyo on Monday evening.
Although the South Africa Football Association does not have the permit to land their chartered aircraft at the Ibom International Airport, the Nigeria Football Federation is working round the clock to ensure permit is granted for their plane before it departs Johannesburg at 1pm on Monday.
The delegation will be composed of 26 players and 15 officials.
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/11/caf-picks-mauritian-referees-bafana-fly-monday/#sthash.J9X4gPW6.dpuf