Chelsea to roll out red carpet for Cech

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said Friday he will invite Petr Cech into his side’s dressing room whatever the outcome of this weekend’s Premier League match with Arsenal.

The Czech goalkeeper was sold to the North London club for £10 million ($16 million, 14 million euros) in the
summer and will make his first return to Stamford Bridge on Saturday with Mourinho still holding him in high regard after he spent 11 years with Chelsea.

“If anybody could have a doubt – I never had – but if any Chelsea fan with a different perspective of what football is thought Petr Cech against Chelsea would open the goal and let us win, I think in the Community Shield they understood he was there to win and probably more than ever,” he said reflecting on a 1-0 defeat at Wembley in which Cech played.

“After the game, if he wants to come to our dressing
room, the door is open for him.”

Mourinho was quick to play down his rift with Arsenal
manager Arsene Wenger. The pair have fought a running battle over the years with a war of words culminating in a pitchside altercation last year.

But Mourinho said: “I think it’s time to not speak about it. “I don’t think it’s important now and I don’t think people are focused on that. I think people are focused on what has happened on the pitch.

“I am responsible for my actions and the others are
responsible for their actions.”

Mourinho to be investigated over claims of sexism

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho could face a five-match ban after a member of the public complained he had used sexist and abusive language against former team doctor Eva Carneiro, Britain’s press reported Friday.

The Football Association said in a statement that it had “received an enquiry relating to an alleged incident during the Premier League fixture between Swansea v Chelsea on 8 August” but that it would make no further comment.

Mourinho criticised Carneiro when she ran on the pitch to treat Belgian star Eden Hazard at the request of referee Michael Oliver during the final stages of the drawn match.

Footage of the incident broadcast by Sky Sports showed Mourinho shouting angrily while watching Carneiro from the touchline, before exchanging words as she came down the touchline to return to the dug-out.

Mourinho demoted the Gibraltar-born medic straight after the game, and she has yet to return to the club’s training ground.

Under FA rules, players and coaches can be punished for using “offensive, insulting or abusive language and/or gestures”.

An aggravated breach, for instance a reference to gender, carries a minimum touchline ban of five-matches. The FA is compelled to investigate the claim, which was made in the past few days, according to reports.

Oliseh recalls Mikel, Moses

GETTING READY … Super Eagles duo, Victor Moses (l)
and Obi Mikel on reserve bench in readiness for action.
Nigeria coach Sunday Oliseh will recall Chelsea’s John Obi Mikel to his side when they take on Cameroon and Congo in October’s friendly matches in Belgium.

The 41-year-old will also recall on-loan West Ham winger Victor Moses as well as Watford striker Odion Ighalo to his team, according to reports.

It seems the coach has been impressed by their showing at club since the start of season and is looking to strengthen his team ahead of the two internationals.

Monaco’s Elderson Echiejile will also get a look in but
captain and goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama is not likely to be recalled.

Four players from the domestic league will make the trip to be part of the friendly, the report also stated.

I Don’t Want To Be Nigeria’s Maradona—Mikel

Few hours before Nigeria take on France in round of 16 of the ongoing 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, Super Eagles' player, John Obi Mikel, has said that he is not ready to be the African side’s Diego Maradona.

Speaking ahead of the match that many Nigerian fans have tagged 'win or come home', the Chelsea midfielder added that the team is all that matters for Stephen Keshi’s men and that none of the players are looking for individual glory.

“I only care about the team. Nobody wants to be the Maradona of this team,” Mikel said at a press conference ahead of Nigeria’s round of 16 game against France.

“We don’t want to be talking about individuals. We all want to do our utmost for the team and I will keep giving my all.

“It will be a spectacular game and we are very motivated. The match could be decided by details. It will be a close encounter.

“I have played against some of the France players before in the Champions League. The coaches have also done their homework on how to approach the game and have given us all the details we need,” Mikel noted.

The Nigeria's match versus France is expected to kick off 5pm local time while Argentina's match against Algeria is scheduled for 9pm.



* Nigeria versus Iran match

Meanwhile, President of Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, Aminu Maigari, has assured Nigerians that the Eagles would fly over the Les Blues of France tonight.

 "We are not done yet. I can tell you that the Super Eagles will overcome France on Monday and that will be another glorious record," Maigari said as he flew out of Sao Paulo to Brasilia on Sunday morning.
He added: "I have confidence that we will beat France. If you have followed our campaign well, you would notice that we have improved match after match.

"We came close to upsetting Argentina in Porto Alegre. We do not fear France."

Luis Suarez Ban: Uruguayan President Slams FIFA, Claims It’s Punishment For Knocking Out England And Italy

Uruguayan President Jose Mujica has weighed into the Luis Suarez biting row with a stirring defence of his compatriot.

Suarez was yesterday banned by FIFA for nine international games, but also received a four-month suspension from all footballing activity and was fined around £85,000.

But Mujica, who is renowned for being one of South America’s more liberal premiers, claimed that the sanction against Suarez was excessive, and was punishment for knocking out European heavyweights Italy and England.

“They’ve gone too far,” said Mujica.

“They want to punish him severely and because we are Uruguayan and we are small it’s cheap for them to do so, it doesn’t cost them anything. GALLERY

“They measure him by a different yardstick and it is that which makes us indignant.

“We knocked out England and Italy, look how much money they’ve lost there!

“The issue is that we are a small country and our television rights aren’t worth very much money.

“I’m waiting for him to come back so I can give him a big hug.”

Nigeria Football Federation showered encomiums on TB Joshua

Following Nigeria’s heroic performance against The Dragons of Bosnia early Sunday morning, Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) top brass has showered encomiums on The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations for their constant prayers and support for the Super Eagles.

NFF co-coordinator Emmanuel Attah expressed the board’s delight toward the church for standing behind the team, given the number of successes recorded since the board came into office.

“On behalf of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) board, I wish to express our profound gratitude to The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations for their support towards the Super Eagles. 

They were there with us in prayers during the AFCON which we won; they have been praying and supporting the team too at the World Cup. 

“We thank Prophet T.B. Joshua for praying for the team’s success and raising a top player like Onazi who has been of immense blessing to the country,” he said.

Peter Odemwengie’s first-half goal was the difference between the sides, as Nigeria reached four points in Group F ahead of Wednesday’s meeting with Argentina, who have already qualified for the knockout stages.

Eagles will stop Messi, say Keshi, Enyeama

Eagles coach Stephen Keshi said yesterday that his side will play for a win in today’s last group game against Argentina in Porto Alegre.

The Super Eagles need just a point to reach the second round for the first time in 16 years. However, a defeat will see them through if Iran fails to beat Bosnia in the other encounter.

Expected to garner support from Brazilians against their arch-rivals who expect 80,000 supporters from across the border, the 51-year-oldsaid his boys will not be intimidated by the predominant support base that Porto Alegre will offer to the Albiceleste.

“We’re here to play, if we have the support of the Brazilians we will appreciate it. But we are not looking at that, we are just here to win our game,” Keshi told reporters.

It is the fourth time both teams will meet in the World Cup, with the South Americans having won all three previous encounters.

All attention is on one man, captain Lionel Messi who has scored twice already and is familiar with the Nigerians. The talisman got a birthday message from the Nigeria coach.

“My team and I want to wish him a very happy birthday. We want to wish him a healthy long life, all his heart’s desires,” Keshi said.

“If there is a way to stop him, it is something that I will share with my players and coaches.”

Goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama, who gave a yeoman performance against Messi at the 2010 World Cup also praised the player but said he is not up against one man but the whole Argentina frontline.

“He’s one of the best players in the world and has made a lot of progress since the last time we met,” Enyeama said.

“It might not be a game between him and me, it’s going to be Nigeria against Argentina. There are other players like [Sergio] Aguero and [Angel] di Maria.

“I watch tapes of opponents, I have done that. We have studied their tapes, their strengths and weaknesses.”

“Every game has its own character. I will study the game but I’m sure tomorrow is going to have a different character,” Keshi said.

European giants Italy, four-time champions, became the latest former winners of the FIFA World Cup to exit Brazil 2014. They lost 1-0 to Uruguay in the last Group D match at the Estadio das Dunas, Natal on Tuesday.

Captain Diego Godin scored in the 81st minute as Uruguay edged 10-man Italy to reach the second round of the World Cup.

The match boiled over in the second half when Claudio Marchisio went in hard on Egidio Rios and was shown a red card.

However, Uruguay were lucky to not be down to 10 men themselves as Luis Suarez seemed to sink his teeth into the shoulder of Giorgio Chiellini as they tussled in the box.

The Liverpool striker escaped punishment and went on to celebrate with Godin as the defender rose highest from a corner to score the crucial goal with nine minutes remaining.

Italy however became the third former World Cup winner to be sent home from the tournament after Spain and England.

With the victory, Uruguay joins Brazil, Germany, Argentina and France as the remaining past winners still in the race.

World Cup: Nigeria plots Argentina’s fall to end jinx

                           Eagles will battle the Argentines in their final group match.

—————————————————

When the Super Eagles file out at the Estadio Beira-Rio, Porto Alegre, it will be with an objective to make certain their qualification into the Round of 16 at the ongoing World Cup in Brazil.

The Super Eagles Coach, Stephen Keshi, made this objective clear to his players.

“We have come a long way. We have won one match, got a draw from another. Our chances are brighter now in the group.

“We shall go out there to put up a fight of our lives. In terms of technical preparation for the game, we are ready,’’ Ben Alaiya, Media Officer of the Super Eagles, quoted Keshi as saying.

The President of Nigeria Football Association, NFA, Aminu Maigari, on his part urged the Eagles to go all out against Argentina on Wednesday to ensure the qualification of the team into the Round of 16.

He said he would be delighted with a favourable outcome as the match-day would coincide on his birthday.

“My birthday is on the day we are playing Argentina, and I will feel special if we defeat the Argentines.

“But more than that, a place in the Round of 16 will bring joy to the Nigerian delegation here in Brazil as well as to our people back home.

“We have so many reasons to go all out on Wednesday for victory.

“The Argentines have always beaten us at the FIFA World Cup, though narrowly each time. We also need to show our true strength as the champions of Africa,” Mr. Maigari said.

Nigeria met Argentina first at USA ’94 World Cup.

The Eagles also lost to Argentina at the 2002 Korea/Japan World Cup and 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Nigeria lost 1-2 to Argentina in Boston, USA on June 25, 1994, and was again piped 1-0 courtesy of a Gabriel Batistuta goal in Ibaraki, Japan on June 2, 2002.

When both sides met in South Africa four years ago, an early goal by Gabriel Heinze condemned the Eagles to a 1-0 defeat.

However, at the Olympic Games, the story was not the same. In Atlanta ’96 in the U.S., Nigeria defeated the Argentines to win the Olympic Games gold medal, a victory that left the Argentines flustered for many years.

Argentina U-23 team evened-up the Olympic record with 1-0 victory over Nigeria at the final of the 2008 Olympic Games in China.

There was also the 4-1 defeat the Eagles handed down to Argentina in a friendly in Abuja on June 1, 2011.

The victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina in Cuiaba, Brazil had taken the reigning African champions to second place in the pool with four points.

The Eagles must still avoid defeat against the two-time world champions in Porto Alegre to be certain of a place in the knockout stages.

The Media Committee Chairman of NFA, Emeka Inyama, said that the board was impressed with the sterling performance of the Super Eagles and had promptly released the winning bonuses of the team.

“The team deserved all the accolades from well-meaning Nigerians over the impressive outing so far,’’ Inyama said.

He said the association had since ensured prompt meeting of their own obligations, so as to motivate the team to go all out to seek the round of 16 ticket.

He said they had urged the players to approach the last group match with the seriousness it deserved.

“We believe that now that the team had risen to the occasion and performed creditably, they should continue and make it into the round of 16.

“The Argentines are beatable, we have beaten them once at the Olympic Games – the 1996 Games in Atlanta,’’ Inyama said.

He said that the team could be beaten again.

The city, Porto Alegre, which will host the all-important game, is a city with history.

The stadium, located on reclaimed land on the banks of the River Guaiba, the Estadio Beira-Rio, is the home of International, arch-rivals to their Porto Alegre neighbours Gremio.

The venue has hosted four Copa Libertadores finals and is reputed to be largest football ground in the south of Brazil, nicknamed the “Gigante do Beira-Rio” (The Giant of Beira-Rio).

The facility was officially known as the Estadio Jose Pinheiro Borda and was opened in 1969.

It took nearly a decade to build with inter-fans lending a helping hand in its construction by donating bricks, cement and iron.

So anxious were some supporters to see the ground built that they would even leave games at the club’s existing ground, Estadio dos Eucaliptos, whenever the team was losing and head to the Beira-Rio to cheer the builders on.

World Cup: Suarez bites again as Italy crash out

                   Uruguay and Costa Rica qualify from Group D

Controversial Uruguayan striker, Luis Suarez, exhibited his bad side once more as he appeared to have bitten Italian defender, Giorgio Chiellini, during his side’s 1-0 win over Italy in their final group game on Tuesday at the Arenes das Dunas.

Though Suarez escaped the eye of the referee, it is yet to be seen if the Liverpool forward will be slammed with another heavy ban as his action taints his country’s progress into the Round of 16 at the FIFA World Cup.

This would be the third biting incident involving Suarez.The first came in November 2010 when Suarez, playing for Ajax, bit PSV’s Otman Bakkal on the shoulder during a 0–0 draw. Ajax suspended him for two games and fined him an undisclosed amount, but the Dutch League body increased Suárez’s suspension to seven league matches.

Also at the end of the 2012-13 season, playing with Liverpool in the Premier League, Suarez bit Chelsea defender, Branislav Ivanovic, on the arm. That earned him a 10-match suspension. He has since claimed to have stopped such acts.

Uruguay join Costa Rica in the Round of 16 from Group D as England could only manage a draw against the surprise group leaders.

Babatunde’s best yet to come – Keshi

 

Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi , has warned that the best is yet to come from Michael Babatunde.

The Volyn Lutsk forward was a surprise choice to start in place of Victor Moses against Bosnia Herzegovina, but his performance in the match surprised many Nigerians.

Keshi warned that there was more to come. “Why were people surprised? He’s a good player,” Keshi told KickOffNigeria.com.

“That’s why we brought him here. We don’t play with names. If you’re good you’re good.
“I tell people, I don’t use names, if I see you’re good, you can do the job, I’ll put you in the team and you’ll play.

“Names, you show me on the pitch, and Babatunde, he just started. He needs more confidence, by the time he gets more confidence, like Azeez, the sky is their limit.”

Babatunde is expected to start again in Wednesday’s game against Argentina.
Kick-off is at 1PM local time (5PM Nigeria time).

 

Ivory Coast President Promises - I Will Give You 32 million CFA Francs If You Beat Greece

Ivory Coast president Alassane Ouattara has promised his Ivorien national team over 30 million CFA Francs if they qualify for the FIFA World Cup round of 16.

Ouattara said this yesterday and his revelation was revealed to the players by president of the National Assembly Guillaume Soro, when he visited their World Cup home in Sau Paulo.

The Ivorien players are due 16 million CFA francs ($24,400, 17,900 euros) per player if they win against Greece and with the recent incentive, that will double to 32 million CFA francs, FIF revealed on their website.

It was revealed that the new promise was to motivate the players more to go out and give their all to make the next stage of the competition.

Ivory coast are currently second with three points in group C after beating Japan 2-1 and losing to Colombia 2-1. To make the next round the ivoriens need to win, a draw will leave them at 4 points and they will hopw Japan doesn't beat Colombia in their final game.

This money might seem as a paltry sum for some of the big names in the team like Manchester City’s Yaya Toure or Galatasaray’s Didier Drogba who earn more thann that monthly but for reserve goalkeeper Sylvain Gbohouo it would be welcomed.

Italy Has Weaknesses And We Will Exploit Them - Suarez

After giving his country Three points against England with two lovely strikes Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has revealed his country Uruguay has cooked up a great game plan against Italy.

Luis and his teammates had watched Costa rica demolish the italian team last week and revealed that the ‘Celeste’ will come out victorious against the Pirlo led team.

Minnows Costa Rica had shocked the group and beaten Italy 1-0 after winning Uruguay 3-1, to the surprise of all critics.

Suarez has faced Italian team before but only on UEFA Cup games, and losing to the azzurri in last years third-place play-off in last year’s Confederations Cup, which Italy won with a penalty shoot-out.

The 27-year-old hit man said: “From last year’s Confederations Cup I know how organised they are. If you leave them just an inch they will make you pay, But they have weaknesses as well as strengths, and we will try to exploit those weaknesses. “We expect Italy to be tough opponents, but we know what’s at stake and we are going out there to qualify.”

Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez had earlier coached AC Milan in the 1990s and is quite known in the Italian game and revealed he would love to get 3 points off the Italians and make it to the next stage of the tournament.

He said: “For me it would not be like winning any other match, “But we know it’s decisive. We will go home or we will stay. “Earlier in the competition we depended on the results of others. Now, the task is clear. “If we win we’re through, and we’re ready to rise to the challenge.”

Maigari wants special birthday gift

President of NigeriaFootball Federation (NFF), Alhaji Aminu Maigari has charged the Super Eagles to go all out against Argentina on Wednesday and ensure a place in the 2014 FIFA World Cup’s Round of 16.

Speaking in Sao Paulo on Monday, Nigeria’s football supremo says he would be the most delighted with a favourable outcome as the match-day falls on his birthday.

“My birthday is on the day we are playing Argentina, and I would feel very special if we defeat the Argentines. But more than that, a place in the Round of 16 at this World Cup finals would bring joy to the entire NFF delegation and the good people of Nigeria back home.

“We have so many reasons to go all out on Wednesday. The Argentines have always beaten us at the FIFA World Cup, though narrowly each time. We also need to show our true strength as the champions of Africa,” Maigari said.

Victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina took the African champions to second place in the pool with four points, but they must still avoid defeat against the two –time world champions in Porto Alegre to be certain of a place in the knock –out stages.

Nigeria lost 1-2 to Argentina in Boston, USA on June 25, 1994, and were then pipped 1-0 courtesy of a Gabriel Batistuta goal in Ibaraki, Japan on June 2, 2002.

When both sides met in South Africa four years ago, an early goal by Gabriel Heinze condemned the Eagles to a 1-0 defeat.

However, Nigerians retain sweet memories of the 4-1 defeat the Eagles handed to Argentina in a friendly in Abuja on June 1, 2011, and a step down theladder, the U-23 team edged Argentina 3-2 to claim Africa’s first Olympicfootball gold, in Atlanta 18 years ago.

“It will not be easy, but then, we did not come here thinking any match would be easy. One philosopher once said that when the going gets tough, the tough gets going.

“Our commitment is to continue to pump up the spirit of the players so that they will get better as we move ahead in the tournament.

With the win over Bosnia-Herzegovina, we have now reclaimed our winning mentality and it would be difficult to stop the Eagles flying all the way,” stated Maigari.

Onazi: External comments won’t affect us

Super Eagles midfielder, Ogenyi Onazi has admitted that players of the team came under some harsh criticism after their opening day draw with Iran at the ongoing 2014 Fifa World Cup in Brazil.

Onazi however claims that it did not affect the players adversely insisting it instead galvanized them to secure their first victory of the completion against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Saturday.

“After our game against Iran, many people wrote us off. However, that did not affect us. We are united and are always together as a team,” Onazi told supersport.com.

Captain, Joseph Yobo had hinted during Friday’s pre-match press conference that “some people” were trying to create distractions within the team.

“I think (some) people are trying to create distractions in this team. They can’t find anything yet.
“At the end of this tournament, I will have other things to say about the people trying to create these distractions. I don’t know where they are coming from,” Yobo said.

Following Saturday’s win over Bosnia, Onazi has now echoed the sentiments of his captain insisting that a united front has been the drive behind the team’s success.

“We do not listen to any comments from outside because if we win, it’s for us and if we lose, it’s also for us.

“After the game against Iran, we encouraged ourselves and vowed to do better than we did (when we face Bosnia),” he said.

The midfielder concluded by revealing the banter he shared with his Bosnia teammate (at Serie A club, SS Lazio), Senad Lulic before Saturday’s game.

“We chatted as soon as the draws were made and Lulic kept telling me they were going to beat us. I said, ‘no problem’ but I knew God was going to see us through,” he said.

5 things that made the Eagles fly

World Cup debutants, Bosnia and Herzegovina saw their hope of progressing into the last 16 come to end when they lost to African champions, Nigeria inside the Arena Pantanal in Cuiaba on Saturday.

It was a match full of key battles, interesting stats and end-to-end stuff. From ending a 16-year wait for a first World Cup win to becoming the African team with most goals in the history of the tournament and also to ending a nine-hour run of not scoring in open-play capture the story of the Super Eagles’ victory against Bosnia.

Supersport.com picks out Nigeria’s key moments in the match that helped downed the Europeans in the must-win clash.

Emenike The Bully
Fenerbahce striker, Emmanuel Emenike, was a constant pain in the neck for the Bosnian defence. If the battle between Emenike and the captain of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Emir Spahic, was a boxing bout the latter would have either had a bloodied face or thrown in the towel.
Emenike completed eight dribbles against the Europeans on the night, which remained the most by a player as on Sunday at the tournament. Even former Ghana defender, Sammy Kuffour testified that Emenike’s style of play against Bosnia reminds of Daniel Amokachi’s bulldozing style of the past.

The Emenike-Odemwwingie combination
The telepathy between Emenike and Peter Odemwingie all through the match was huge in Nigeria putting Bosnia to the sword. The build-up to Odemwingie’s goal confirmed the partnership between the two strikers. The two forwards put no foot wrong and played for each other by taking up impressive positional plays that made it difficult to know the point man though Emenike played as the number nine.

Babatunde’s sweet left foot
The Volyn Lutsk midfielder is one of the players who came up for criticism when Stephen Keshi named him in the Nigerian squad for the World Cup. But Michael Babatunde, for the first time, showed he has a sweet left foot coupled with a high work rate. The 21-year-old preferred ahead of Victor Moses for the Bosnia game forced Asmir Begovic into making two saves from long range efforts.
Certainly, his performance was one of the positives for the Nigerian bench to take into their next game against former world champions, Argentina on Wednesday.

Yobo still a defensive leader
Forget about Joseph Yobo being concerned with only becoming the first Nigerian men’s footballer to earn 100 caps in international games. The 33-year-old, who took up the place of injured Godfrey Oboabona, showed he is still not just up for the big stage but he is the leader of the team.
He quietly did his job as team leader and the most experienced man in the Nigerian back four and it robbed off on Efe Ambrose, Juwon Oshaniwa and the impressive Chelsea youngster, Kenneth Omeruo.

Enyeama’s super save
Definitely Vincent Enyeama’s big save on to the post from Edin Dzeko’s effort inside stoppage time is the best of the pick from a Nigerian perspective. Surely a lot of Nigerians would have had their hearts in their mouths or a few would have vomited theirs.
That super save by one of the most underrated goalkeepers in world football has now earned the Lille custodian new nicknames like Saint Vincent and The Saviour.

Amadu commends ‘One Match at a Time’ approach

General Secretary of Nigeria Football Federation, Barrister Musa Amadu, has applauded the resolve of the Super Eagles to approach it one game at a time at the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals, saying the approach has been working and will work well to take Nigeria far in the tournament.

Getting ahead of themselves has worked against Nigeria previously, when players naively thought they already reached the quarter finals and became quite casual, allowing Italy to equalize and eventually trump a Round of 16 game in USA 20 years ago.

The attitude was also at play in France four years later, with players haggling over money for a potentially –explosive quarter final clash with Brazil before the Round of 16 meeting with Denmark in Paris.

“The approach of taking it one match at a time is excellent. That has worked well for us in the first two matches. It will also work for us against Argentina and take us very far in the competition,” Amadu said on Monday.

Working hard and playing for one another, the African champions brought to an end their nine-match winless streak at the FIFA World Cup by pipping Bosnia-Herzegovina in Cuiaba on Saturday.
Apart from the bringing the dubious record to an end, Nigeria is also the only African team to earn four points from its first two matches in Brazil.

Also, as at Monday morning, only Nigeria and Mexico had not conceded a goal in the 32 –nation finals that started on June 12.

Before their victory on Saturday, Nigeria had not won a match at the FIFA World Cup since beating Bulgaria 1-0 at the Parc des Prince in Paris on June 19, 1998.

“I have confidence that we will go ahead and create several other records in this competition, going by the fact that the Super Eagles have picked up in form. When the Eagles are in form, no one can stop them,” Amadu maintained.

Before the match with the Bosnians, NFF President, Alhaji Aminu Maigari had expressed optimism that the African champions would pick up the three points, as the unyielding Nigeria spirit comes to the fore when much is expected.

It would be recalled that the Super Eagles also started slowly at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, drawing with Burkina Faso and Zambia, before going ahead to defeat Ethiopia, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali and Burkina Faso to claim the

Enyeama rated 5th best

Super Eagles goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama has emerged the fifth best player in the Castrol Index statistical top 10 ranking following his outstanding performance in the ongoing 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

FIFA released the Castrol Index ranking after the second round of group fixtures. The latest Castrol Index comes out after every round of matches.

Enyeama’s efforts in the Super Eagles Group F matches against Iran and Bosnia-Herzegovina earned him a place in the ranking with 9.59 points having kept clean sheet in the two games.

The Maccabi Tel Aviv shot stopper made several close-range saves during Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina. Two games in the tournament, Enyeama has made eight saves that prevented the opponents any chance to find the back of the net, notably among them was a last minute attempt by the Bosnia-Herzegovina striker Eden Dzeko which was saved by Nigeria goalkeeper.

The Bnei Yehuda goalkeeper is relatively known for best performance. Enyeama kept 11 consecutive clean sheets in Ligue 1 matches during the first half of the 2013–14 season. He thus came within 114 minutes of equalling Gaëtan Huard’s Division 1 or Ligue 1 goalkeeping record, set in 1993, of playing 1,176 minutes without conceding a goal.

France striker Karim Benzema’s eye-catching performance at the Arena Fonte Nova on Friday evening ensured he has ended the second round of 2014 FIFA World Cup group fixtures at the top of the Castrol Index statistical ranking with 9.77 points, just ahead of the Netherlands duo of Robin van Persie (9.72) and Arjen Robben (9.67). With a goal average of 2.9 per match – by comparison, the figure for South Africa 2010 was 2.3 – it is no surprise to see three forwards up there, with Benzema leading the way.

Switching to the left side of France’s three-man attack, he gave the Switzerland defence nightmares with his clever movement, pace and sheer appetite for goals throughout the Group E fixture in Salvador and besides scoring once – a volley on the turn from close range – also set up another two for Blaise Matuidi and Moussa Sissoko. He was a split-second from having a second goal too, scoring with a spectacular long-range strike just as the final whistle sounded. France have now had 42 goal attempts over two games – more than any other side in Brazil – and Benzema’s hunger is underlined by the fact he has contributed 15 of them, with 11 on target.

While the Netherlands pair have climbed from sixth and seventh respectively, Brazil defender David Luiz remains in fourth place after helped the hosts earn a clean sheet in the Group A goalless draw with Mexico, limiting their opponents to three shots on target. That same game featured a save by Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa from Neymar that “was almost a Gordon Banks” in the words of the great Pele, evoking the then England goalkeeper’s famous stop from his seemingly goal-bound header at the 1970 finals. Ochoa has climbed into the Index top ten with his efforts, which earned him a second clean sheet.

Three other players have entered the top ten, starting with sixth-placed Croatia midfielder Ivan Perisic, who set up his side’s opening goal and struck the second himself in the eventual 4-0 dismantling of Cameroon. Ecuador forward Enner Valencia is seventh after his two goals earned his country victory over Honduras, and took his tally to the tournament for three.

And last but not least, Colombia playmaker James Rodriguez is ninth after producing a second Man of the Match performance already in the 2-1 victory over Ivory Coast. He has shone with his passing and vision, and it is also worth noting he has actually covered more distance – running 21km in two games – than any other Colombia player. To top it all he even scored a rare goal with his head and is unlikely to disagree with Deschamps’ suggestion that this Brazilian setting is bringing the best out of players.

Oboabona back in training

It was a smooth one hour, thirty minutes flight for the Super Eagles and its officials from Campinas to Porto Alegre, as the team gears up for Wednesday’s group decider against former World Champions, Argentina.

On the flight with the Eagles was the Vice President of the NFF, Chief Mike Okeke Umeh, House of Reps members led by Vice Chairman, House Committee on Sports, Alhaja Ayo Omidiran, Coach Stephen Keshi and his crew and all the 23 players registered for the tournament.

The team is quartered at the Holiday Inn Hotel, about 10minutes drive from the airport and the good news for the team is that defence Trojan, Godfrey Itama Oboabona, was back in training on Monday afternoon. “I am ready to resume training today (Monday) and the medics have given me a clean bill,” Oboabona said smiling as the team alighted from the TAM flight that brought them from Campinas.

The team departed for training immediately it settled down at about 2:15pm local time, which was 6:15 in Nigeria, with Team Skipper, Joseph Yobo, saying he prefers a win on Wednesday to his much advertised attainment of a 100th cap if featured in the match against Argentina.

“It’s good news that I will reach that milestone but what is uppermost in my mind is for the team to win and for us to advance to the next stage. The rest will be a bonus,” he said on Monday.

PHOTOS: Former Super Falcons' Star, Chichi Igbo, Shows Off Her Ripped Abs In New Photos

28-year-old Former Super Falcons star, Chichi Igbo showed off her ribbed abs in new photos.

The Pro soccer player who is now based in Denmark where she playing professional football and winning cups, started her career in 2000 with the Capital Queens in Uyo and went on to represent Nigeria at the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

See photos below

UPDATE: South Africa FA Rules Out Keshi Claims

                                                 * SAFA president, Danny Jordan

 Contrary to speculations making rounds that Super Eagles' coach, Stephen Keshi is destined to dump Nigeria and join South Africa after the ongoing 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, the South Africa Football Association, SAFA, on Monday, 23 June, 2014 dismissed claims that Keshi would take over as Bafana Bafana coach.

Prior to the Mundial, media houses in Nigeria had reported that the former Nigerian captain, who is now the head coach of the Eagles, had already signed a two-year contract and would take over as Bafana coach in July.

Speaking on the rumour on Monday, spokesman of SAFA, Dominic Chimhavi, said: "Safa has never released a list of candidates that are on the short-list for the Bafana Bafana job.

"Keshi's name is part of a list of names bandied about by the media. The list was created by the media and the reports coming out of Nigeria are total fabrication."

Chimhavi added: "There is no truth to those reports.

"When the president of Safa, Mr Danny Jordaan, announced that Gordon Igesund's contract would not be extended, he made it clear that the new coach will be announced in July, following the conclusion of the World Cup."

Last week, social media websites Twitter and Facebook were abuzz with reaction to the news that Iran coach Carlos Queiroz was about to sign a contract with SAFA.

The South African FA denied reports that Queiroz was on his way back to South Africa, having already taken charge of Bafana in 2000.

The vacant Bafana post has seen more that its fair share of speculation since Igesund was told his contract had come to an end and he would not take the national team into the qualifying campaign for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, starting in September.

Keshi and Queiroz remain favourites to get the nod, though SAFA has repeatedly said the "favourites" tag had been created and maintained by the media and not by any of its officials.

Nigerian coach Keshi has not come out to deny or confirm the speculation saying his focus is to continue to work with the Nigerian team.

The Super Eagles are currently campaigning in the world cup in Brazil where they have won one match against Bosnia Herzegovina and drew Iran to place second in their group behind Argentina.

Nigeria will play the South Americans on Wednesday in a match they cannot afford to lose if they want to qualify for the round of 16.