illusion2:


World Cup 2010 team guide: Nigeria

OVERVIEW
World Cup guide: Nigeria

World Cup guide - Nigeria

Nigeria left it late to qualify for the World Cup - an 81st-minute winner against Kenya in the final qualifier seeing them through - and their preparations for South Africa have been similarly last minute. The decision to sack coach Shaibu Amodu following their third-place finish at the Africa Cup of Nations meant his replacement, Swede Lars Lagerback, effectively has just three weeks with his squad before the tournament. The Nigerian Football Federation has been fined by Fifa after changing their World Cup base late in the day, and there has also been confusion over the venues for their warm-up matches.

And while problems before the 1994 and 1998 World Cups did not prevent them from impressing in those tournaments, this squad does not contain the likes of Jay-Jay Okocha, Daniel Amokachi and Sunday Oliseh. John Mikel Obi is their only stand-out player, and he is recovering from a knee injury, while a squad that boasts plenty of pacey forwards also lacks quality midfielders.

Aim: The Nigerian Football Federation is targeting a semi-final place. That looks unlikely, but the side will be under pressure to reach the last 16 given the tournament is in Africa.

THREE KEY PLAYERS
Peter Odemwingie

PETER ODEMWINGIE A pacey right winger who can also play up front, Odemwingie was born in Uzbekistan to a Nigerian father and Russian mother and was rated by some observers as Nigeria's best player during the qualifying campaign.
John Obi Mikel

JOHN MIKEL OBI Nigeria's star player was named in the squad despite doubts over his fitness because of a knee injury. Usually a holding midfielder for Chelsea, he often plays further forward for Nigeria.
Vincent Enyeama

VINCENT ENYEAMA A veteran of the 2002 World Cup campaign, when he kept a clean sheet in the final game against England, the keeper scored nine penalties for his Israeli club this season.
World Cup photo album
THE MANAGER
Lars Lagerback

LARS LAGERBACK The experienced Swede, who took his home nation to the last 16 of the previous two World Cups, beat off competition from Sven-Goran Eriksson and Glenn Hoddle to land the job in February.

ADOPT THEM BECAUSE,

The Super Eagles are good for your inbox. Each year Nigerian fraudsters send millions of emails in an attempt to con people out of money, but World Cup success should distract them.

HOW THEY QUALIFIED

Yakubu

Nigeria's World Cup qualifying highlights (UK only)

W 2-0 South Africa (H)
W 1-0 Sierra Leone (A)
W 1-0 Equatorial Guinea (A)
W 2-0 Equatorial Guinea (H)
W 1-0 South Africa (A)
W 4-1 Sierra Leone (H)
D 0-0 Mozambique (A)
W 3-0 Kenya (H)
D 0-0 Tunisia (A)
D 2-2 Tunisia (H)
W 1-0 Mozambique (H)
W 3-2 Kenya (A)
Qualified top of group

WORLD CUP BEST

Reached last 16 in 1994 and1998. On their debut in 1994, they were leading Italy 1-0 with two minutes remaining before Roberto Baggio equalised and then scored an extra-time winner from the penalty spot to send his side into the quarter-finals.

Written by Tom McCoy

honeric01:

Una don suffer

World Cup 2010 team guide: Nigeria

OVERVIEW
World Cup guide: Nigeria

World Cup guide - Nigeria

Nigeria left it late to qualify for the World Cup - an 81st-minute winner against Kenya in the final qualifier seeing them through - and their preparations for South Africa have been similarly last minute. The decision to sack coach Shaibu Amodu following their third-place finish at the Africa Cup of Nations meant his replacement, Swede Lars Lagerback, effectively has just three weeks with his squad before the tournament. The Nigerian Football Federation has been fined by Fifa after changing their World Cup base late in the day, and there has also been confusion over the venues for their warm-up matches.

And while problems before the 1994 and 1998 World Cups did not prevent them from impressing in those tournaments, this squad does not contain the likes of Jay-Jay Okocha, Daniel Amokachi and Sunday Oliseh. John Mikel Obi is their only stand-out player, and he is recovering from a knee injury, while a squad that boasts plenty of pacey forwards also lacks quality midfielders.

Aim: The Nigerian Football Federation is targeting a semi-final place. That looks unlikely, but the side will be under pressure to reach the last 16 given the tournament is in Africa.

THREE KEY PLAYERS
Peter Odemwingie

PETER ODEMWINGIE A pacey right winger who can also play up front, Odemwingie was born in Uzbekistan to a Nigerian father and Russian mother and was rated by some observers as Nigeria's best player during the qualifying campaign.
John Obi Mikel

JOHN MIKEL OBI Nigeria's star player was named in the squad despite doubts over his fitness because of a knee injury. Usually a holding midfielder for Chelsea, he often plays further forward for Nigeria.
Vincent Enyeama

VINCENT ENYEAMA A veteran of the 2002 World Cup campaign, when he kept a clean sheet in the final game against England, the keeper scored nine penalties for his Israeli club this season.
World Cup photo album
THE MANAGER
Lars Lagerback

LARS LAGERBACK The experienced Swede, who took his home nation to the last 16 of the previous two World Cups, beat off competition from Sven-Goran Eriksson and Glenn Hoddle to land the job in February.

ADOPT THEM BECAUSE,

The Super Eagles are good for your inbox. Each year Nigerian fraudsters send millions of emails in an attempt to con people out of money, but World Cup success should distract them.

HOW THEY QUALIFIED

Yakubu

Nigeria's World Cup qualifying highlights (UK only)

W 2-0 South Africa (H)
W 1-0 Sierra Leone (A)
W 1-0 Equatorial Guinea (A)
W 2-0 Equatorial Guinea (H)
W 1-0 South Africa (A)
W 4-1 Sierra Leone (H)
D 0-0 Mozambique (A)
W 3-0 Kenya (H)
D 0-0 Tunisia (A)
D 2-2 Tunisia (H)
W 1-0 Mozambique (H)
W 3-2 Kenya (A)
Qualified top of group

WORLD CUP BEST

Reached last 16 in 1994 and1998. On their debut in 1994, they were leading Italy 1-0 with two minutes remaining before Roberto Baggio equalised and then scored an extra-time winner from the penalty spot to send his side into the quarter-finals.

Written by Tom McCoy

Abuse:

Lets call a spade a spade.We don't have good image.If you must complain about linking football to 419 then remember that even the NFF are also involved in 419 activities.They booked the worst hotels in Durban and again the booked a cheap flight that would have killed all the players because they wanted get kick backs.I am glad BBC are doing what they know best, which is ameboooo!!!

Abuse:

Lets call a spade a spade.We don't have good image.If you must complain about linking football to 419 then remember that even the NFF are also involved in 419 activities.They booked the worst hotels in Durban and again the booked a cheap flight that would have killed all the players because they wanted get kick backs.I am glad BBC are doing what they know best, which is ameboooo!!!

the world cup overview article written on Nigeria by Ton McCoy is absolutely uncalled for and biased. the statement he wrote goes thus;
__________________________________________________
ADOPT THEM BECAUSE,

The Super Eagles are good for your inbox. Each year Nigerian fraudsters send millions of emails in an attempt to con people out of money, but World Cup success should distract them.
__________________________________________________

if that is not IGNORANCE i don't know what it is. Nigeria is a country of over 160 million people and a very low percentage of them may indulge in some fraudulent activities. that should give him no right to involve it in his write up.
It's so hard being a Nigerian nowadays because the likes of him always want to think the worst of us and the truth is that, most Nigerians have never conned anybody in their lives (including myself). It's absolutely unfair tagging an entire population of a crime committed by only a percentage of it. Will it fair if i tag the Brits with racial bigotry and go ahead to reflect it in an article? NO because, i know a few racists live amongst you (including Mr. McCoy). subscribing to stereotypes is absolutely immature, ridiculous and for a so-called journalist; unwise.
I'm speaking for millions of Nigerians by saying this; it will be greatly appreciated if that comment is removed from the article. if he doesn't have anything to put in the "adopt them because" segment, he should leave it blank.
thanks.

T. A

Abuse:

@Sagamite: I am very sure you are one of the fraudulent NFF officials. Have a glorious day with BBC.British man.

Princek12:

I don't think the BBC writer meant that 419 represents most Nigerians, but rather that the 419ers will be busy watching the Super Eagles, a time during which they will refrain from sending scam emails to their targets, effectively reducing the amount of scam emails that will be received in the inbox of targets. While this may be true, I think anyone who is offended by this email has every right to complain against BBC, for BBC's stories about Nigeria lately are edging around outright disrespect to Nigerians.

Again, this story should send to Nigerians a message that we should self police ourselves and  try to stop all these 419 and deceptive activities so that other countries will not continue to ridicule us.