Nigeria Content Online

The Super Eagles last night had their first training session ahead of this weekend’s 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against the Walya Antelopes of Ethiopia.

The training session, which came up under floodlights at the National Stadium in Abuja, venue of Sunday’s match against the East Africans, had 20 players in attendance.

While goalkeepers Bamidele Aiyenugba and Sunday Rotimi who worked out with the team’s goalkeepers’ trainer, former Super Eagles goalkeeper Ike Shorunmu, the rest of the players worked out under the guidance of head coach Samson Siasia and his assistant, Simon Kalika.

Olympique Marseille of France defender, Taye Taiwo who arrived at the national team’s Transcorp Hilton Hotel base only minutes before the team was due to depart for the training session, later joined the rest of the squad at the National Stadium, Abuja.

The only players on the list of invited players who did not feature in last night’s training session were midfielder Fengor Ogude and striker Solomon Okoronkwo. Both internationals who play in the Norwegian top division were expected at the Transcorp Hilton hotel last night.

A crucial tie

Sunday’s game is very important for the Nigerians as anything other than a win will practically end the team’s chances of securing automatic qualification for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations to be co-hosted by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

The Super Eagles currently trail Guinea by three points in Group B after two rounds of matches and they need to win their remaining four games, including the return leg fixture in October against the Guineans, who last October inflicted a 1-0 defeat on the Super Eagles.

The Super Eagles will also need to score a lot of goals to make up on the significant advantage the Guineans already have by virtue of their 4-1 win over the Ethiopians in Addis Ababa last September.

It was probably because of this that Siasia invited as many as nine attackers for the game against the Walya Antelopes, including a recall for Ikechukwu Uche who only just returned from a lengthy injury spell.

“We just want to encourage [him]. He is back after a year, so it’s not like if he comes here, we are going to start him. We want to see if he can actually fit in,” Siasia said in a report published in Fifa.com.

“If he does, maybe he would come in [later in the game]. He missed the World Cup, and I think it is a good thing to encourage the young ones like that and that is why we invited him.”

Meanwhile, preparations have reached an advanced stage for Saturday’s Olympic Games qualifier between Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea with all invited 15 overseas-based players arriving Benin-city for the game.

Though the team coach, Augustine Eguavoen, originally invited 12 players, Obiora Nwankwo and Nnamdi Oduamadi were released by Siasia to join the side while Terna Suswam from Portuguese club, Vitoria Setubal completed the list.

Suswan was a regular fixture in the Nigeria ‘B’ team that won the WAFU Cup of Nations in Abeokuta last year.