Nigeria Content Online

On Monday, August
30 2010, Mohammed Idris, the presiding judge in the suit brought before
the Federal High Court in Lagos by Harrison Jalla, President of the
National Association of Nigerian Footballers (NANF) challenging the
decision of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to hold elections
into the executive committee of the NFF without holding state
elections, was very angry.

One week earlier he
had ordered that the NFF stay action on the election slated for August
26 until issues pertaining to the case before him had been argued by
parties involved. But the NFF claimed it did not receive a copy of the
order and went ahead to hold the elections. Idris, feeling slighted by
the action threatened to come down heavily on officials of the
federation if he is able to ascertain that the NFF received the order.
The case was subsequently adjourned to tomorrow.

The election ranks
as one of the most contentious in recent times. Indeed, many have
argued that given the furore it generated, it has surpassed the 2005
version, which ushered Sani Lulu and his team into office, in drama and
intrigue.

One of the key
issues that pitted opponents against NFF officials was the amendment in
2008 of the statutes of the federation, which extended the tenure of
some delegates to the federation’s congress, specifically, the chairmen
of state football associations. Under the old law those elected in 2006
were supposed to leave office in mid 2010, after a period of four
years.

The first amendment, which extended their stay, had indicated
they would be finishing their tenure either in November or December
this year. When this amendment drew protest from intending candidates
for the NFF presidency particular former Green Eagles captain, Segun
Odegbami who petitioned FIFA, Sani Lulu, the then president of the NFF
who authored the amendment, withdrew the clause. In the final draft of
the statutes, which formed the basis of the August 26 elections, there
was no reference to election of state FA chairmen. This present
election, which saw Aminu Maigari emerge as new president of the
federation has also thrown up the question of which laws a body
comprised of Nigerians and operating within Nigeria but affiliated to
an international body should give preference to.

Nigerian laws supreme

The NFF by virtue
of it being a member of FIFA is bound to operate within the ambit of
the statutes of the world football governing body. However, in the case
of a conflict between the laws of FIFA and that of Nigeria, which
should take precedence?

“The Nigeria
Football Federation is subject to Nigerian laws and the jurisdiction of
Nigerian courts,” says Jiti Ogunye, a Lagos-based lawyer.

“By no stretch of
the imagination can FIFA laws, which forbid the interference of third
parties in the activities of national football federations mean that
jurisdiction of our courts over Nigerians in the NFF as well as their
processes or conduct within Nigerian territorial space be excluded.
Now, we are aware that court stopped elections but that the NFF brushed
it aside. As a lawyer I know that it is grossly contemptuous.

“The presidency was
said to have intervened the first time the election was supposed to
have held and the NFF deferred to it and shifted the elections to
another day. Now, the same body that deferred to executive arm refused
to defer to the court. This happened because both contestants and
organisers feel the court is toothless. We desecrate our institutions
when we disobey court orders and the court is enjoined by law to punish
such individuals.”

Ogunye says
according to law those eligible for punishment include both officials
of the NFF including members of the electoral committee and those who
contested the elections. He said the decision to go ahead with the
election despite court order reflects a typical Nigerian attitude.

“What salvage work,
what urgency was there that they could not wait to discharge the order
before holding the election?” he asked.

“Are we going to
another World Cup or another Nations Cup? It is typical Nigerian
attitude to disobey our courts. When the governor of a state issues
orders, we obey immediately. We obey the governor because we know he
dispenses favours and can bring in the police when we flout his
directives but we disdain judges, and say after all is it not just one
judge there in his robes, what can he do?”

Jonathan’s green light

The NFF may have been helped along in its decision to flout the court order by the acquiescence of President Goodluck Jonathan.

“President Jonathan
was informed of the court order but he refused to order Maigari to call
off the election,” a source in the NSC said.

“The President is
busy trying to perfect strategies for his candidacy for next year’s
elections and he doesn’t want to offend anybody hence his refusal to
act,” the source added.

President
Jonathan’s nod for the elections to go ahead was a huge disappointment
for officials of the sports ministry who had before the meeting with
President Jonathan tried to dissuade Maigari from going ahead with the
conduct of the elections.

No reprisals

Ordinarily in
situations like this where a body like the NFF, which is under the
supervision of the sports ministry goes against its wishes, sanctions
would have been visited on it. One of the ways in which that would have
happened is for the ministry to withholding funds from the NFF. Had
that happened the NFF would have run from pillar to post seeking funds
to prosecute today’s match against Madagascar in Calabar.

“We will not be withholding funding from the NFF. There is provision
made for them in the sports ministry budget and nobody is tampering
with it,” said Tony Ohaeri, spokesman of the NSC.

African champions
Egypt will today host Sierra Leone in Cairo as they start their quest
to secure a record eighth Africa Cup of Nations title.

The Pharaohs in the
last couple of years been one of the most dominant sides on the
continent and have won four of the last six tournaments but they are
experienced enough to know that they cannot underestimate their opening
round opponents and will be looking for a convincing victory at home.

Coached by Hassan
Shehata, Egypt have won the last three tourneys but with so many of his
dependable stars approaching the end of their careers, Shehata will be
trying to build a team that can defend the title in two years.

Veteran goalkeeper
Essam Al-Hadari is however expected to start against the Leone Stars
today. Al-Hadari has been Egypt’s first-choice goalie for the past six
years and is widely regarded as one of the best keepers in Africa.

The Pharaohs will
however be without Amr Zaki who is still struggling to overcome a groin
injury but his absence notwithstanding the Egyptians will still be more
than a handful for the Leone Stars who will be without their star
attraction Mohamed Kallon who only recently recovered from a knee
injury.

AC Milan youngster
Rodney Strasser however looks set to make his debut for the West
Africans. The 20-year-old, who made his first appearance for Milan in
December 2008, is one of 15 foreign-based players in Sierra Leone’s
squad for the game.

“I’m very happy to
be given the chance to make my international debut,” Strasser told the
BBC. “This is also a chance for me to come back home for the first time
since I joined AC Milan in 2007.”

In Lubumbashi, it
will be a clash of titans when Congo DR and Senegal meet with both
sides seeking to make up for the disappointment of crashing out at the
first stage of South Africa 2010 qualifiers, while in Lobamba,
Swaziland will host Ghana.

Essien and Muntari out

The Black Stars
have left out both Michael Essien and Sulley Muntari for this game, and
Coach Milovan Rajevac has insisted he has faith in the youngsters who
went all the way to the final of the last Cup of Nations and will make
up the bulk of his squad for today’s match at the Somhlolo Stadium.

“We need to do well
and build a good foundation,” said the Serbian coach, hailed as a hero
after the Black Stars reached the quarter-finals of the recent FIFA
World Cup.

The Black Stars
will however be without Matthew Amoah, who was top goal scorer during
the qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup, because of a knee injury,
leaving Rajevac with only Asamoah Gyan, Prince Tagoe and Yaw Antwi as
his strikers for the match.

The winners of each pool, plus the second-placed finishers in Group
K, will qualify for the tournament, as will the best two runners-up
from Groups A to J.

The Super Eagles
aim to win back their lost pride when they take on Madagascar later
today in a 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier scheduled for the U.J
Esuene Stadium, in Calabar.

It is a game whose
outcome will go a long way in determining whether the Super Eagles will
be at the next Africa Cup of Nations tournament to be hosted by
Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

With the Super
Eagles contending with the likes of Madagascar, Guinea and Ethiopia for
Group B’s sole automatic ticket, qualification should be a walk in the
park for the former two-time African champions. But with the once
powerful Super Eagles out of form in recent times, it will be foolhardy
to predict a comfortable win for Nigeria against minnows like
Madagascar, who are currently ranked 148th in the latest FIFA world
rankings.

In contrast their
opponents, the Super Eagles have for three straight months remained in
the 30th spot which has been their lowest in seven years.

At the start of the
year the Super Eagles showed so much promise and expectations were high
amongst the team’s fans ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations and the FIFA
World Cup.

First came the Cup
of Nations at the start of the year in Angola with the Super Eagles
disappointing fans with a third place finish; the campaign was regarded
as disastrous mostly because of their semi final loss at the hands of
bitter rivals Ghana.

The failure was
followed up with a catastrophic showing at the World Cup in South
Africa where the Super Eagles failed to go beyond the first round even
suffering an embarrassing loss to a Greek side that had previously
failed to score a goal and to record a win at football’s biggest stage.

This trend was even
carried over into the team’s first international match after the World
Cup as the side, now managed by caretaker coach Augustine Eguavoen
following Lars Lagerback’s exit, ended in a loss against a Korean side
they had previously forced to a 2-2 draw at the World Cup.

Professionals versus part-timers

With a team
composed mostly of players plying their trades in Europe, the Super
Eagles, even though more than half of the squad to the World Cup have
been left out, are favourites to beat Madagascar today but will be wary
of underrating the side from the Indian Ocean island nation who have in
recent years churned out a couple of impressive results against more
accomplished opponents despite parading a team made up almost entirely
of players from their domestic league.

Although they have
never qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations, the Barea, as the
Madagascans are known, have recorded their own fair share of upsets
with the most notable of them coming in 2003 when they defeated Egypt
1-0 in Antananarivo in a 2004 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.

Also, during the
first round of qualifiers for South Africa 2010, Madagascar played out
impressive 1-1 draws against Cote d’Ivoire and Mozambique at home but
their poor form on the road prevented them from advancing to the next
round of the qualifiers.

They also made it
as far as the semi final stage of the 2008 edition of the COSAFA Senior
Challenge Cup which is an annual tournament meant for teams from
Southern Africa. In their most recent friendly international, a match
that also served as the first game in-charge for new coach Frenchman
Jean-Paul Rabier who until his appointment was handling Japanese league
outfit FC Ryukyu, they defeated the Comoros Islands 1-0. Rabier had
once handled the Burkinabe national side between 2002 and 2004 as well.

No boasts this time around

But it is with
lowered expectations that the Super Eagles will be approaching today’s
match and there are no talks of a whitewash of the Barea.

“We will approach
the match against Madagascar with all the seriousness it deserves,”
said Nigerian forward Osaze Odemwingie. “We don’t intend to underrate
them or any other team in the group whatsoever.

“We agreed at a
team meeting that every game will be approached with the right
attitude, and that this match will not be an exemption.”

It was a view that
concurred with those of Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel. “I wouldn’t
say we are going to white wash them, but we are going to win.

“There are no
longer minnows in football, so we are going into the game to put in our
best, and hope with the support of all Nigerians and God on our side,
we would come out victorious.”

That’s exactly what
Nigerians will be expecting but hopefully something much better than
the 1-0 win recorded by the Super Eagles back in 2001 in Benin City.

“We just want to
win and make a good start,” assistant coach Benedict Iroha said on
Friday. “If we win with a wide margin that will be nice but there are
no small teams in football anymore.

“All we want is to go out there and win and then carry on from there,” added the former Super Eagles defender.

Unexpected injuries
to Joseph Akpala and Dickson Etuhu ruled the duo out of today’s
encounter. Even the team’s captain Joseph Yobo was, prior to his loan
switch from Everton to Fenerbahce, nursing a slight thigh injury.

Opportunity for home-based players

There are so many
other players capable of leading the Super Eagles forward line but
there is no doubt that Etuhu will be missed especially after his recent
impressive displays for both club and country. It could however be the
opportunity midfield enforcers from the Nigerian league have been
waiting for to stake a claim for a national team shirt.

Players from the
domestic championship have never had a fair deal when it comes to the
national team but there is every indication that all that might just
change beginning with today’s match, especially if the Nigerian-based
players that get to feature impress.

“There are a lot of
good players from our league, it’s just that they have not been given
enough opportunities in the national team,” said Iroha.

“We have been
impressed with them and some of them will definitely play against
Madagascar,” added Iroha, who insists there are no fresh injury
concerns.

“There is no problem with any of the players in camp. Everyone is okay.”

Nigeria’s
representatives at the 2010 FIFA Women’s U-17 World Cup, the Flamingoes
begin their quest for the title tonight (8:30 pm Nigerian time) when
they face defending champions, Korea Democratic Peoples Republic.

Organised by FIFA,
the U-17 Women World Cup, the tournament came on as a result of the
success of the first ever U-19 Women World Cup, which was hosted by
Canada in 2002.

Though continental
federations were sceptical that it will succeed, FIFA went ahead with
her plan after some modifications. The U-19 was changed to U-20 Women
World Cup and the first edition was held in Russia in 2006 while the
U-17 Championship was slated for 2008. Nigeria participated in the
maiden edition, hosted New Zealand, along with 15 other countries from
six continents. However, their opponents in today’s match are expected
to give them a hard time considering the rising profile of the women’s
game in that country.

Korea DPR won the
2006 edition of the U-20 championship and went on to win the inaugural
edition of the U-17 tournament brushing aside powerhouses like the
United States of America and England to win the tournament.

The present squad,
as well as their Coach Sin Ui-Gin, is determined to emulate the feat of
the last two years. And with players like Kim Kum-Jong, Yu Jong-Im and
Pong Son-Hwa the Flamingoes have their work cut out.

Journey to Trinidad and Tobago

Nigeria’s ride
through the qualifiers was a relatively easy one. They had been assured
of a ticket since May 2010 when they beat South Africa 7-1 to remain
Africa U-17 women champions. However, they were in danger of missing
out on the tournament when in July Nigerian President, Goodluck
Jonathan banned the Nigeria Football Federation from FIFA competitions
for two years. Had the ban not been lifted after threats of sanctions
from FIFA, the Flamingoes place at the competition would have been put
in jeopardy.

As the dominant
force in Africa, the Flamingoes are hoping to do better than they did
in their first outing. They had failed to go beyond the first round
when they were knocked out by England 1-0 even though they dominated
possession in the game. Their win over Korea Republic was not enough to
brace them for a battle with Brazil. In the latter match, with both
teams requiring a win to make the next round, but they drew thus
crashing out together.

Flamingoes coach,
Peter Dedevbo, has it all to do for his team to have any hope of
winning the title. Only one member of the present squad, Ngozi Okobi,
was in New Zealand two years ago meaning that he has to inject
confidence into his players to prevent them from developing stage
fright. Given the manner the ladies mauled the South Africans during
the qualifiers, that is possible. The confidence the ladies gained from
winning the two friendly matches they played while on tour of the USA
is sure to come in handy.

Though two of the
teams in Nigeria’s group – hosts Trinidad and Tobago and Chile – are
coming to the tournament for the first time, the Flamingoes cannot take
them for granted.

Dedevbo says the achievement of the Falcons will be a motivation for them to do more.

“The success of
[the Falconets] presents us with a big challenge. This is not the time
to lower our guard now that Nigerians are turning to women’s football.
We need to stay focused, and we can make the country proud,” he said.

Ghana hoping to get it right

Ghana will be more
confident at this present outing. In the 2008 edition, they barely made
it through the qualifiers and crashed out after the first round, but
not without valuable experience. This time however, the Maidens had a
better qualifier campaign.

Coach Abraham
Allotey who also led the team to the 2008 tournament is optimistic his
lasses will improve on their outing at the inaugural edition.

The girls camped
briefly in America before moving over to Trinidad and Tobago. Drawn
with the likes of Canada who reached the quarter finals two years ago,
a resilient Brazil, and relatively unknown Ireland who impressed in
Europe and came second after only losing to Spain on penalties, the
Ghanaian team is in for a tough time.

South Africa has always been involved in women’s football but this
is the first time they have been able to qualify for a World Cup. The
Bantwana began their campaign for this tournament in bold fashion
beating Botswana 22-1 on aggregate. They lost to Nigeria 7-1 but were
able to recover by beating Tunisia 3-1. South Africa is in the toughest
group after being drawn with Germany, Korea Republic and Mexico.
Germany was third in the last edition of the competition while Korea
Republic reached the quarter final stage before losing to USA.

After the dust over
the August 21, 2010, election into the board of the Nigeria Football
Federation (or Nigeria Football Association, if you choose) has
settled, it is pertinent to ask if the controversy was necessary, after
all.

The bone of
contention was the ineligibility ascribed to chairmen of the state
football associations, who were primed to be delegates to the election,
to elect a new NFF executive. Contestants for various positions in the
football house had argued that the tenure of majority of the state
chairmen had since expired and had rendered them ineligible to partake
in the election. Essentially, the contestants were asking that fresh
elections be conducted in the states.

In the quest by the
contestants to have their prayers answered, however, no reference was
made to the NFF Congress in Makurdi in 2008 when it was ratified that
the national election, fixed for August 2010, would precede the states
polls. Neither did the contestants consider that the Congress’ decision
had been communicated to the world football governing body, FIFA, as
well as the continental body, CAF, whose officials had in turn noted
August 21, 2010, in their itineraries.

Indeed, some
members of the outgoing board had reckoned the perceived irregularity
in having the national election precede the state category. Short of
labelling the Makurdi decision devious and deliberately tailored to
suit the interest of certain individuals, the members conceded that the
former board had erred in its decision.

Candidates’ doublespeak

Oyuki Obaseki, a
Vice President in the former board, said the Makurdi decision was
riddled with lack of foresight. Nonetheless, he maintained that
Congress ruling was supreme. “We can only guide against a repeat of
such oversight in the future,” Obaseki counselled.

Yet, the plea failed to hit a target, as aggrieved candidates would rather the state elections were held first.

One of the
contestants for board membership of the NFF, Aisha Falode, was vehement
in her vituperation against the electoral committee. “I have no
confidence in the committee and its leadership and if we must move
forward, the committee should be dissolved to restore the confidence,”
the prominent broadcaster insisted.

In her private
dealings with the committee, however, she was said to have commended
its effort, especially its modification of the earlier stringent rule
that stifled her out of nomination by Edo State, which had preferred
the candidacy of Obaseki.

Another contestant,
Segun Odegbami, had also not been initially nominated by Ogun State,
which preferred the state Sports Commissioner, Bukola Olopade; but had
entered the race for the NFF Presidency through the intervention of the
electoral body which he would later commend in private for its wisdom
to “provide a level playing ground for contestants.” Interestingly,
after Odegbami appeared to view his chances at coveting the top
football job as slim, he had petitioned FIFA, citing what he called
irregularities in the election process and asking the world body to
intervene with a view to impressing the electoral committee to stop the
election.

He was variously
reported as having withdrawn from the race, but was also quick to
refute the story, although his curious late arrival to the venue of the
President Debate in Abuja on August 14 suggested that he could have
only had a change of mind at the last minute.

When news got to
the electoral body with three days to the polls, with Odegbami
featuring prominently as the vanguard of a court injunction purportedly
seeking a stop to the election pending the determination of a suit
filed at a Lagos High Court by former Nigerian internationals, the
presidential aspirant denied his involvement, contrary to his public
utterances.

The electoral
committee dispatched a letter to Odegbami, seeking his stand on the
legal issue and expressing its desire to stop the election in deference
to the court, even as it was not served any notice of an injunction
that was curiously already awash in the media.

Odegbami’s response
was as startling as it was illuminating. It made the controversy that
trailed the election needless and it is pertinent that Nigerians are
aware of the somewhat unwholesome saga that threatened to de-brand
Nigerian football.

“I have absolutely
no knowledge of any such suit,” Odegbami re-assured the electoral
committee in his letter to the body dated August 20, 2010.

“I have given no
one or lawyer any directives to go to court over any matter,” he
further stated, apparently to drive home the point that football
matters are not for the regular courts to adjudicate.

In a bid to
extricate himself from the legal web imposed on the electoral
committee, Odegbami continued, “This is fraudulent and the handiwork of
agents who want to paint me in bad light for their own ulterior and
narrow purpose”.

Determined to
further impress the committee of his innocence, he concluded, “I have
given my lawyers directives to investigate the matter and they have
come back to tell me there is no such suit registered in any court in
Abuja”.

The foregoing
suggests that Odegbami could well have sought the NFF presidency only
on account of his undoubted meritorious service to Nigerian football,
spanning 35 years, and perhaps aware that he could not match the
political savvy of the so-called opportunistic football administrators,
opted to heat up the polity to curry public favour.

Could he not have
tackled the opportunistic cabal that have held Nigerian football
hostage for decades grit-for-grit and tact-for-tact, deploying his
popularity as a veritable edge over his perennial adversaries? Perhaps
it will not be too late for him to provide an answer when the next
election is up in 2014.

I am fervently
asking God for the grace, to address this issue of restitution
adequately between now and October 1, 2010, when by the very special
grace of God, we would be celebrating our 50th anniversary as a nation.
I know from experience that genuine restitution bears with it some
degree of excruciating pain, and this is why human beings avoid it.

But believe me, I
also know that after the pain involved in restitution, not the fake
one, comes the gain – which usually is always of unquantifiable benefit
to all involved in the act of restitution.

No preparation to revive sports

To discontinue
reaping the fruits of shame, ineptitude, corruption, demonic covenants,
age falsification that is grossly affecting the development of millions
of youngsters, who are supposed to be groomed as Nigeria’s future
leaders on the platform of sports, restitution has to be done. It will
eliminate fraud, favouritism, moral decadence, drug abuse, violence,
winning at all cost, negligence and all other social vices that have
been sown as seeds in Nigerian sports. Lest I forget, the latest of
such evil, are the intense disdain, insult and disregard of the laws by
representatives of FIFA and the goon squad representing them in Nigeria.

Sunday, September 5
saw me in Abeokuta, capital of Ogun State, Nigeria, to watch the
opening game of the U-17 International football competition organised
by the Pepsi Academy of Nigeria, under the supervision of Kashimawo
Laloko. I was on my way back to Lagos after the opening ceremony to
watch the Nigeria versus Madagascar match, but became double-minded on
sighting a bus conveying players of the Liberty Professionals Academy
from Ghana, driving on the opposite side of the road towards Abeokuta.
I then had to make a choice between heading home to watch the Eagles,
hoping that they would be super this time around, or making a U-turn to
Abeokuta. I chose to make the U-turn, since I have uncompromisingly
committed myself to such age-grade grassroots football development. I
have no doubt that I made the right choice, but whether I derived
anything positive remains a big doubt.

Anomie and too much pressure

Apart from the poor
level of officiating at the games, there was so much pressure on the
young lads from the coaches. The question is – when do we begin to see
exceptional dribbling skills, ball juggling and through passes,
displayed by our age grade football players? The foundation we are
laying is very weak. I left the M.K.O. stadium, feeling very
uncomfortable and disappointed. I kept on asking myself the question –
“where do we go from here”?

Another observation
had to do with the number children spectators – for whom these football
matches are organised. I was shocked to see a population of less than
100 and a 100 adults. Well, was this new to me? No, I saw a worse
situation in Lagos during the recent Lagos Youth Championship football
competition. The question is why should this be so? What can be
responsible for empty stadiums during age-grade football competitions?
The answers are simple and several. No right thinking parent for
instance will allow his/her ward go watch matches in Nigerian stadiums
that have been taken over by social miscreants and other forms of
gangsters. It is no longer strange to those who are bold enough to risk
going to any stadium in Nigeria to see drugs being hawked, sold and
consumed with such reckless abandon, even in the presence of security
agents.

I got home to be confronted by another anomie; the FIFA U-17 Women’s
World Cup, going on in Trinidad and Tobago. Nigeria played against
North Korea. As a patriotic Nigerian and football coach, I decided to
watch the game, but forgot absolutely that my daughters, at home on
holidays would also watch. It would have been okay if the commentators
had not mentioned the ages of the “women” representing Nigeria. One of
them was my student in the Brazilian Soccer School, about 5 years ago
and she was introduced aged 14. One of my daughters watching the match
is an SS3 student; what kind of example are we setting for the
young(er) ones? May God forgive this nation? Please say a very loud
Amen.

Portugal were held
at home by Cyprus 4-4 on Friday but it was no surprise as the
Portuguese were without Cristiano Ronaldo and banned coach, Carlos
Queiroz. But stand-in captain, Ricardo Carvalho has pledged on behalf
of his team mates that they will beat Norway today when they file out
at the Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo.

Carvalho, who spoke to UEFA.com said they were unlucky and should have won the game against Cyprus.

“Our focus was good
going into the game, but we started badly, and even though we got into
a winning position we didn’t manage to go on and get the win,” he said.
“We could have scored a fifth goal (when leading 4-3) but didn’t and in
the end we ended up with the draw. We have to be more compact,
especially at the back. We played well going forward but we’re normally
more secure in defence.”

Left-back, Fabio
Coentrao, will miss the game in Oslo because of a thigh injury and they
are still missing Ronaldo, who is out of action for a further two weeks
on account of an ankle injury.

More pressure for Blanc

Laurent Blanc was almost in tears after Belarus taught his team the essence of a smash and grab win.

“We can’t just say
it was a catastrophe. We have to look a little closer at what happened.
We certainly haven’t started well. Indeed after the debacle and the
embarrassment caused by the team to South Africa, this was not what the
doctor ordered,” Blanc said after the game.

“We weren’t able to
take our chances, and when you can’t win a match, you have to make sure
you don’t lose it. Nothing went for us in Friday’s game.

“Today’s game is
important – the decisive games will come towards the end of the
qualifying campaign. A draw against Belarus would have been a mediocre
result, but at least (it) would have allowed us to get off the mark. We
didn’t do that, and we’ll have to make up for that in Bosnia. It’s
difficult to take something positive away from this. We were a little
naïve.”

That naivety showed on the part of both the coach and the players.

Guillaume Hoarau
will be replaced by Karim Benzema and Loic Rémy and Louis Saha are also
out injured but there has been a recall for Lyon’s Jimmy Briand.
Benzema is very keen to get back the adulation of the fans. “I am ready
to fight for my place in both the France team and at Real Madrid.
Things didn’t go well for me last year, but now I really want to play
and I am ready to make the necessary sacrifices,” he said.

Blanc is wary of his teams’ losses in their last four matches and that they have now gone eight games since they last won.

“In this context,
we can’t say we’re going to Bosnia to win. No, we need to show some
humility. We can’t go around talking ourselves up after what happened
on Friday.”

England goes for Swiss encore

After the feel good
atmosphere on account of the 4-0 win over Bulgaria, England coach,
Fabio Capello will be hoping that Wayne Rooney will not be distracted
by the sex scandal and ruin a second win against Switzerland today.
Captain Steven Gerrard is not expecting an easy match against the only
team to beat Spain at the 2010 World Cup. Gerrard said on UEFA.com,
“Internationals away from home are always going to be difficult, I
think Switzerland showed at the World Cup what a good side they are by
beating Spain, so we have to perform at the same level as (against
Bulgaria), and we want that result.”

Capello needs more of the three goals from Jermain Defoe that sank
Bulgaria tonight at the St. Jakob-Park in Basel. British fans had
turned against Capello after the 4-1 thrashing received from Germany at
the World Cup but applauded the team off the pitch after the 4-0 rout
of Bulgaria and the Italian coach must know now that things can quickly
turn from adulation to hate.