Eagles qualifies for Brazil 2014 world cup

The Super Eagles of Nigeria have qualified for the 20th edition of the FIFA world cup in 2014. The reigning African champions defeated the 'Walya Antelopes' of Ethiopia at the UJ Esuene stadium in Calabar.

The Nigerians started the game by trying to score an early goal. Emmanuel Emenike should have put Stephen Keshi's men in front after six minutes. He received the ball in the penalty box but his tame shot was saved by Basa. The Ethiopian keeper went to save shots on goal that came from Ogenyi Onazi.

In the 20th minute, an Ethiopian defender handled the ball in the penalty area and Victor Moses converted from the spot to make it 1-0.

The Super Eagles slowed down the pace of the game for the remaining part of the first half.

Brown Ideye missed a couple of chances and failed to make a reasonable impact in the Nigerian attack.

After the restart, the Nigerians approached the game with more seriousness. The Ethiopians tried to mount pressure on Nigeria in order to get an equaliser that never came.

Sunday Mba and Victor Nsofor came on to replace Brown Ideye and Victor Moses respectively.

Nsofor main contribution to the game was a trademark freekick that was scored in the 81st minute. The ex-Inter Milan player curled a free kick that went into the top corner of the Ethiopian goal.

Nigeria could have won 3-0,but Ahmed Musa missed an absolute sitter in the injury time. He hit the ball with his knee with the goal at his mercy.

Nigeria will now head to the Craven Cottage where they will take on the 'Azurris' of Italy in an international friendly match.

Eagles get set for Ethiopia tie

All the Super Eagles players that were invited for the forth coming FIFA 2014 World cup qualifier are now in Calabar. John Mikel Obi and Victor Moses that were nominated for the BBC African footballer of the year award arrived Lagos on Monday but they couldn't get a direct flight to Calabar until Tuesday morning.

Vincent Enyeama, Chigozie Agbim and Austin Ejide are the three goal keepers that trained under the tutelage of Ike Shorumu-goal keeper trainer.

New Eagles hitman-Emmanuel Emenike is also ready for the big tie on Saturday.

The reigning African champions defeated the "Walya Antelopes" of Ethiopia by 2-1 in the first keg that was played on October 13th. Emmanuel Emenike scored a brace in that encounter. The return leg will be played at the UJ Esuene stadium on Saturday November 16th,2013.

Big guns cruise in African zone of Brazil 2014 qualifiers

The big teams in African football had good results in the 3rd round of matches that were played on Saturday.

In Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire defeated Gambia by 3-0. Yaya Toure scored the second goal before Salomon Kalou added the final goal of the day.

The 'Bafana Bafana' of South Africa defeated Central African Republic by 2-0 on Saturday while the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia defeated Sierra Leone by 2-1.

Burkina Faso thrashed Niger Republic 4-0 in Quagadougou. In Calabar, Nigeria managed to play a draw against the Harambe stars of Kenya. The East Africans took the lead through a superb free kick in the 35t minute.

The African champions struggled to break down the defence of Kenya for a larger part of the match. The team played without a reasonable pattern, but Nnamdi Oduamadi ensured that Nigeria's unbeaten record against Kenya remains unchanged. The Varese of Italy player grabbed the equaliser in the 95th minute of the match.

Samuel Eto'o lifted the 'Indomitable Lions' of Cameroon over the 'Hawks' of Togo. The Anzhi Machakala striker scored a brace for the Cameroonians in Yaounde.

Congo(Brazaville) maintained their 100% record in the qualifiers with a 1-0 win over Gabon.

AYC Qualifier: Nigeria vs Mali

The Golden Eaglets of Nigeria will take on war-turned Mali in an African Youth Championship qualifier at the UJ Esuene stadium in Calabar. The under 17 tournament will be hosted by Morocco in 2013. Nigeria have only conceded a goal in four qualifiers and they've scored 17 goals from the same number of games.

The match will be played on Sunday at 2pm. The kick off time was brought forward by two hours to accommodate the travel plans of the junior Eagles of Mali.
The return leg will be played in the weekend of 30th November-2nd December 2012.
Nigeria has won the under 17 FIFA World Youth Championship on three occasions.

Will the Super Eagles fly?

The Super Eagles of Nigeria will host the Lone stars of Liberia in an African Nations cup match on October 13th,2012. The South Africa 2013 tournament is another opportunity for Nigeria to show that they can still compete at the peak of African football. Stephen Keshi's men missed the 2012 edition after a 2-2 draw against the 'Sili Nationale' of Guinea in 2011.

The reward
The outcome of the game will determine whether Nigeria or Liberia's flag willl be flown in the rainbow nation. The first leg of this tie ended in a 1-1 draw in Monrovia. A goalless draw or a win of any margin will be enough for the Eagles to fly in South Africa.

Stars to watch
Ikechukwu Uche and Victor Moses are some of the key players that must put in their best on Saturday. The Eagles defence must be tightened while Enyeama should be given a BREAK in order to avoid a schoolboy error from the former Enyimba and Lille shot stopper. An in-form Chigozie Agbim or Austin Ejide will be a better choice.

Venue: UJ Esuene stadium, Calabar
Date: Saturday 13th October,2012

Niger Republic storms Calabar for Golden Eaglets

The junior team of Niger Republic have arrived in Calabar ahead of the 2013 African Youth Championship for under 17 players. The first leg ended in a 4-1 win for the Golden Eaglets of Nigeria. The Nigerian team failed to qualify for the last edition of the African and World Championships in 2009 and 2011.

The Mena of Niger have promised to shock Nigeria in Calabar on Saturday afternoon.