GreenEagles.org

Match Type
Africa Cup of Nations 2012 Qualifiers

Venue
Abuja National Stadium, Nigeria

Coach
Samson Siasia

Match Line Up
16 Dele AIYENUGBA (Goal Keeper)
6 Fegor OGUDE
5 Efe AMBROSE
2 Joseph YOBO (Captain)
3 Taye TAIWO
10 John Obi MIKEL
4 Joel OBI
7 Chinedu OBASI
18 Victor Obinna NSOFOR
11 Osaze ODEMWINGIE
9 Emmanuel EMENIKE

Substitute Bench
Austin EJIDE (Goal Keeper)
15 Ikechukwu UCHE
Dele ADELEYE
Ekigho EHIOSUN
Elderson ECHIEJILE
Ahmed MUSA
Brown IDEYE

Substitutions
Ahmed MUSA for Chinedu OBASI 57
Ikechukwu UCHE for Osaze ODEMWINGIE 60
Ekigho EHIOSUN for Joel OBI 72

Goals
Ismael Bangoura 54
Victor Obinna NSOFOR 63
Ikechukwu UCHE 77
Ibrahima Diallo 90+5

The Nigerian National team failed to qualify for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations that will be co-hosted by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon after they could only draw 2-2 against Guinea. Samson Siasia and his men, who will have a lot of questions to answer, have now joined other big countries Cameroon and Egypt on the sidelines.

Instead the Syli Stars grabbed the ticket from Group 2 after they won the group.

The game which was played at the Abuja National Stadium saw the Eagles fly out of the blocks. They put the Guinean team on the back foot, creating chance after chance, but they failed to find the back of the net in the first 45 minutes of the game.

Although the Guineans tried to slow down the pace of the game with time wasting antics, the Eagles carved them open several times.

The best two chances of the first half fell to West Brom striker Osaze Odemwingie and Emmanuel Emenike.

Osaze scuffed his shot after excellent work from Taye Taiwo on the left while Emenike could only shoot straight at the goalkeeper after outmuscling a Guinean defender.

The second half started on the same note, only for Ismael Bangoura to give Guinea the lead after a mix-up in Nigeria’s defence.

Samson Siasia responded swiftly, throwing in Ikechukwu Uche for Odemwingie. The move paid off as Ikechukwu’s deft back heel fell to Nsofor, who glided through the Guinean defence and fired in the equalizer.

Ikechukwu himself added the second goal as he connected sweetly with a knock down by fellow striker Emenike. At that point in time, everyone expected Nigeria to push on and score the all important third goal.

It was not to be. Ibrahima Traore’s goal deep into stoppage time ensured Guinea’s progress and means Nigeria fail to qualify for the first time since 1986.

They will be absent from the competition for the first time since 1996 when they didn’t participate owing to political reasons and 1998 when they were subsequently banned as punishment.

The Super Eagles went into the match needing to win 1-0 or by two clear goals if Guinea scored. But even a one goal lead as at 2-1 would most likely have been good enough to put them through as one of the two best runners-up from Groups A–J.

Guinean Team: Naby-Moussa Yattara, Dianbobo Baldé, Morlaye Cissé, Kamil Zayatte, Ibrahima Diallo, Mamadou Bah, Ibrahima Traoré, Kévin Constant , Sadio Diallo, Pascal Feindouno, Ismaël Bangoura

Match Type
Africa Cup of Nations 2012 Qualifiers

Venue
Stade Municipal de Mahamasina, Antananarivo, Madagascar

Coach
Samson Siasia

Match Line Up
16 Dele AIYENUGBA (Goal Keeper)
6 Chibuzor OKONKWO
2 Joseph YOBO (Captain)
5 Efe AMBROSE
3 Elderson ECHIEJILE
4 Joel OBI
10 John Obi MIKEL
12 Ahmed MUSA
9 Victor ANICHEBE
15 Ikechukwu UCHE
18 Victor Obinna NSOFOR

Substitute Bench
1 Chigozie AGBIM (Goal Keeper)
7 Chinedu OBASI
13 Emmanuel EMENIKE
11 Solomon OKORONKWO
8 Nosa IGIEBOR
14 Fegor OGUDE
17 Dele ADELEYE

Substitutions
Emmanuel EMENIKE for Ahmed MUSA 46
Fegor OGUDE for Ikechukwu UCHE 66
Chinedu OBASI for Joel OBI 70

Goals
Joseph YOBO 68
Victor Obinna NSOFOR 72

Nigeria maintained their sights on Group B leaders Guinea in their Africa Cup of Nations 2012 qualification match with a 2-0 defeat of Madagascar on Sunday.

The Super Eagles overcame atrocious playing conditions to triumph in the last 20 minutes with goals from Joseph Yobo and Obinna Nsofor.

The first half ended goalless in the half-filled stadium in Antananarivo, where the hosts had fielded a weakened Under-23 side.

Nigeria needed all three points to keep pace with Guinea, who host Ethiopia in a late game on Sunday.

Captain Yobo scored from a John Obi Mikel corner kick to give the Super Eagles the lead after a nervy hour.

Nsofor shot well to make it 2-0 on 75 minutes, giving the visitors confidence as the hosts looked for a way back, making for a nervous finish where Nigeria was concerned.

The Super Eagles now have 10 points and will need a home victory against Guinea in Abuja in October if they hope to secure automatic qualification for AFCON 2012.

Nigeria coach Samson Siaisa, who earlier this week criticized his top players for a casual attitude towards national team duty, dropped long-standing first-choice goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama who had led a team sit-in over dissatisfaction with travel arrangements.

The victory came at a cost; however, as striker Victor Anichebe picked up a groin injury in the final minutes and is unlikely to travel with the team to Bangladesh for their friendly against Argentina on Tuesday.

Nigeria will now travel from Madagascar to Bangladesh where they play Argentina in a friendly on Tuesday.

Madagascar Line Up: 1. Robin, 20. Leonard, 3. Bosco, 4. Ndrasana, 8. Jean Baptiste, 6. Ando, 5. Urban, 18. Jean Jacques, 15. Tigana, 11. Yvan, 10. Ferdinand

Match Type
Africa Cup of Nations 2012 Qualifiers

Venue
Addis Ababa Stadium, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Coach
Samson Siasia

Match Line Up
1 Vincent ENYEAMA (Goal Keeper)
6 Chibuzor OKONKWO
3 Taye TAIWO
2 Joseph YOBO (Captain)
5 Efe AMBROSE
4 Joel OBI
10 John Obi MIKEL
7 Ahmed MUSA
18 Victor Obinna NSOFOR
15 Ikechukwu UCHE
8 Peter UTAKA

Substitute Bench
Ekigho EHIOSUN
17 Fegor OGUDE
9 Victor ANICHEBE

Substitutions
Ekigho EHIOSUN for Peter UTAKA
Fegor OGUDE for Victor Obinna NSOFOR
Victor ANICHEBE for Ikechukwu UCHE

Goals
Ikechukwu UCHE 27
Saladin SEID 45
Saladin SEID 50
Joseph YOBO 86

Ethiopia held Nigeria to a 2-2 draw on Sunday in the fourth round of the 2012 African Cup of Nations qualification to join Group B leaders Guinea on seven points.

New coach Samson Siasia and his men stormed Addis Ababa with hope of securing a vital win to overtake the West African side but the Ethiopians, who suffered a 4-0 drubbing against the Super Eagles in the reverse fixture, were determined to make the most of home advantage and put the visitors under severe pressure in the opening exchanges.

For the first goal Mikel Obi found Ahmed Musa with a visionary pass, and the young winger in turn slit the defence with an intelligent ball to put Uche one on one with the goalkeeper. There was to be only one winner. It was just three minutes short of the half hour mark.

The hosts refused to lie down, Menyehele Tesmome found himself in acres of real estate down the right channel, and with Taiwo closing him down, albeit slowly, delivered what looked like a harmless, hopeful cross to the back post.

Enyeama, partly deceived by the win, misjudged the ball, and Said headed in from a tight angle. Ecstasy for the home fans, who had been pelting members of the Nigerian Supporters Club with bottles of water a few moments earlier, forcing a move to a different stand for the visiting fans.

Things got worse for the Nigerians just three minutes after the break. Despite racing onto the pitch a full two minutes before their hosts, and the officials, they found themselves on the back foot very quickly.

Another of the long balls over the top that had proved so hard to handle, came loping in. Ambrose, under pressure from Said, headed it back to Enyeama. The header was short; the keeper came out half a second too late. Said showed no such hesitation and it was 2-1 to the hosts. The bouncing in the stadium, full to its 35 000 capacity, could have caused a minor tremor in Addis Ababa.

So deep were the hosts defending, however, that a goal looked like it would only come from a moment of brilliance, or an attacking blitzkrieg. Samson Siasia opted for the latter, making three attack-minded substitutions, with Ekigho Ehiosun on for Utaka, Fegor Ogude for Obinna Nsofor and Anichebe for Uche.

Fegor’s introduction allowed Mikel to push and stay forward, and twice he came close to scoring, denied first by an excellent piece of defending on the edge of the box, and then by a goalkeeping brilliance.

But at least he can claim credit for the assist when he delivered another inch-perfect ball to Yobo, again lurking at the back post, to head in with four minutes left.

Nigeria now top Group B with seven points with a slightly better goal difference than Guinea, who face Madagascar tonight.

Ethiopia Line Up: Yidinekachew, Alula, Degu, Abebaw, Aynalem, Asrat, Tesfaye Alebachew, Menyahel Teshome, Oumed, Adane, Saladin

Match Type
Africa Cup of Nations 2012 Qualifiers

Venue
UJ Esuene Stadium, Calabar, Nigeria

Coach
Austin Eguavoen

Match Line Up
1 Vincent ENYEAMA (Goal Keeper)
17 Chidi ODIAH
2 Joseph YOBO (Captain)
6 Danny Shittu
3 Valentine NWABILI
14 Femi AJILORE
10 John Obi MIKEL
11 Osaze ODEMWINGIE
12 Kalu UCHE
9 Obafemi MARTINS
8 Michael ENERAMO

Substitute Bench
Otekpa ENEJI
Stanley OKORO
Ahmed MUSA

Substitutions
Otekpa ENEJI for Femi AJILORE 54
Stanley OKORO for Michael ENERAMO 69
Ahmed MUSA for John Obi MIKEL 82

Goals
Obafemi MARTINS 20
Michael ENERAMO 46

Goals from Obafemi Martins and Esperance forward Michael Eneramo helped two-time African champions the Super Eagles overcome hard fighting Barea of Madagascar 2-0 in their opening 2012 Orange Africa Nations Cup qualifier played at the 16, 000-capacity U.J. Esuene Stadium in the coastal city of Calabar, Cross River State, on Sunday.

But the win puts Nigeria in second place in Group B behind the Syli Stars of Guinea who trounced Ethiopia 4-1 in Addis Ababa.

The Eagles, champions in 1980 and 1994, dominated the match but the determined Indian Ocean Islanders- who also lost 1-0 on aggregate to Nigeria in the qualifying series for the 2002 edition- proved they were no easy nuts to crack as they fought till the last minute of the match, which was preceded by a downpour.

Coach Austin Eguavoen opted for Enyimba’s Valentine Nwabili at left-back, making him the only player from the Nigerian Premier League in the Eagles’ starting line-up while Eneramo and Groningen midfielder Femi Ajilore made their return to the team after being left out of the squads to the 2010 Africa Nations Cup and World Cup.

And Eneramo should have scored in the very first minute of the match but the Esperance striker was foiled by goalkeeper Masina who came off his line to pull off a great save and got injured in the process.

But the stadium went into wild jubilations when the Eagles eventually got the lead in the 20th minute. Rubin Kazan striker Martins took advantage of poor defending from Madagascar to slot coolly under Masina’s legs.

Madagascar had some chances of their own with striker Asoni Fayed proving dangerous on the ball but it was Nigeria that scored again in first half stoppage time.

Martins put his pace on the left flank to good use forcing his way into the box before passing to Eneramo, who tapped in to put Nigeria 2-0 up before the break.

In the second half, Eguavoen gave Eneji Otekpa his first competitive debut when he brought in the Enyimba midfielder for Ajilore in the 55th minute and a minute later, Martins had a goal disallowed.

2009 U-17 World Cup silver medalist Stanley Okoro came on for Eneramo in the 68th minute for his first cap at senior level as the Eagles searched desperately for a third goal and Kalu Uche came close to scoring when his dangerous free kick was punched out for a corner in the 76th by Masina but it was the Madagascans who took control afterwards.

First, Samuel’s 78th minute shot outside the box posed no problem for Vincent Enyeama but the Hapoel Tel Aviv goalkeeper was forced to make a world-class save eight minutes later when he dived full length to parry Zozima’s long range scorcher.

Nigeria could have increased the tally in the 88th minute but debutant, Ahmed Musa, who came on for the injured Mikel Obi, saw his shot just wide off the far post.

Madagascar coach Jean-Paul Rabier and his players could afford to hold their heads high despite the defeat to their more-fancied hosts.

The game probably ends Eguavoen’s stint with the team on a winning note as the Nigeria Football Federation continues its search of a new coach for the national side since the exit of Swede Lars Lagerback.

Madagascar Line Up: Jean Raharison – Julien Leleu , Pascal Razakanantenaina – Lalaina Nomenjanahary , Eric-Julien Rakotondrabe , Juvet Tsiarovana , Dimitri Zozimar – Faneva Ima Andriatsima , Faed Arsène , Samuel Adama Ibrahim Paulin Voavy

Madagascar Coach: Jean Paul Rabier