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Afcon: Ndidi warns
Eagles against dark
horses in Group B
Wilfred Ndidi has
warned that Nigeria’s
opponents in Group
B will not be easy and could
have surprises at the
Africa
Cup of
Nations.
T h e
Super Eagles
are up against two
debutants Madagascar and
Burundi and experienced
Guinea in their group.
They will take on Burundi in
their opening game at the
Alexandria Stadium on June 22 -
the first time both countries will
meet at the competition.
...'flattered'
by Man Utd
links
Leicester City star Wilfred Ndidi
has admitted he is “flattered”
to be linked with a big money move
away from the King Power Stadium,
but insists his focus is currently on
Nigeria’s bid to win the Africa Cup
of Nations.
The midfielder was ever-present
for the Foxes in the Premier League
last season, and enjoyed an eyecatching
campaign – particularly
once Brendan Rogers had taken the
managerial reigns in February this
year.
Perhaps not surprisingly, his form
has attracted the attention of some
of England’s biggest clubs, with
Manchester United, Arsenal and
Champions League winners
Liverpool all credited with an
interest in the 22-year-old.
But, while Ndidi has
acknowledged such reports are
complimentary, his feet remain
firmly on the ground as he looks to
make his mark in Egypt over the
next five weeks, and in the blue of
Leicester beyond that.
“I am flattered when hearing such
a thing,” Ndidi, who arrived in the
Premier League from Belgian club
Genk in a £14m deal in early 2017
said.
“It is very good to hear about that
interest from big clubs, but there is
nothing on the ground so I won't
care about it.
Ahead of the
opener, Ndidi
urged his teammates not
to underrate their opponents and
disclosed their target for the group
stage.
“I don’t think it is an easy group.
for me, there is no easy team in
modern football. No matter the
name, the only matter is the 90
minutes of the game,” Ndidi said.
“We can get a shock in this group
so we have to stay focused on the
game, not on how easy it is, and
ignore what people say.
Senegal’s star attacker Sadio
Mane will miss his team’s
African Cup of Nations opener
against Tanzania as the Liverpool star
will be serving a one-match
suspension, Coach Aliou Cisse has
confirmed.
This gives a respite for Tanzania’s
Coach Emmanuel Amuneke. “Sadio
is an important player in the Senegal
team, it’s interesting to have him with
us,” Senegal Coach Aliou Cisse told
dzfoot.com.
Egypt is hosting this year’s Nations
Cup, which has been expanded to 24
teams and will take place from 21
June to 19 July.
Senegal are playing in Group C
alongside Algeria, Kenya and
Tanzania.
Senegal will be facing Tanzania in
their opening match on 23 June, but
the 27-year-old UEFA Champions
League winner Mane won’t be
available since he got two yellow
cards in the qualifiers against
Madagascar and Equatorial Guinea.
“Now I have chosen 23 players who
are ready to make up for any absence.
The group is quite well-armed.
Certainly, with Sadio we would be
very good, but even without him we
will be very good,” explained the
coach of the Lions of Teranga.
“We all know that Sadio will make
a good CAN, the players around him
have to raise the level. That’s how
we’ll get there,” he added.
Premier League and Liverpool top
scorer Mane, who scored 26 goals in
•Ndidi
“We will play tough games
against very good teams and our
target is to be on the top by the end
of group stages.”
The Leicester City midfielder
ended the 2018-19 Premier
League season as the best tackler
with 123 completed tackles.
AFCON 2019: Mane out of Senegal's
opener against Tanzania
N750,000 Spectators were thrilled to one
By Jacob Ajom
of the best football matches played
K
by students in that stadium in
ings College Lagos at the recent times.
weekend bagged Kings College entered the pitch
N750,000 after winning the 2019 as clear favourites but after the half
GTBank Masters Cup at the hour mark, one of the journalists
expense of Anwar Ul Islam that covered the match told this
Model College 5-4 on penalties. reporter, “Kings College are not as
The runners up got N500,000 for good as I had thought...and their
their efforts.
opponents too are not as bad as I
Despite the heavy downpour had thought after the semi finals.
that almost disrupted this highly They(Anwar Islam Model College
entertaining match, it was players) have dominated and
drama and suspense at the exhibited hunger for the trophy.”
Campos Stadium, Lagos, Friday, In view of the fireworks and
when Kings College, Lagos took the tremendous support from
on the Anwar Ul Islam Model fans of both teams, it was
College, Lagos in the final of the expected that goals would be
2019 GTBank Masters' Cup. aplenty. That, however, never
all competitions (22 in the Premier
League and four in the Champions
League), was called up for Senegal’s
25-man preliminary list hours ahead
of winning the champions league
final against Tottenham on 1 June.
“If we received a card in the
elimination round, I do not see the
value of counting it during the final
phase of the CAN. CAF has decided
that, but we will prove that Senegal
exists without Mane,” the coach
concluded.
•Mane
2019 GTBank Masters Cup: Kings College bags
came as the first half ended 0-
0.
Heavens opened midway
into the first half and the rain
began, first in drizzles and then
in torrents. But the referee did
not stop the match until
halftime. The interval was
unusually long as stewards
were called onto the pitch to
bale out water from the flooded
pitch.
The second half saw the two
teams missing near chances
that were far and in between..
The match ended goaless. But
the more experienced Kings
College team outscored their
less fancied counterparts 5-4 in
the resultant penalty shootout.
•Musa
Vanguard, MONDAY, JUNE 17, 2019 — 45
Super Eagles assistant
captain Ahmed Musa is
hopeful that none of the 23
players named to the team's Africa
Cup of Nations squad will suffer
injury setbacks.
The Al Nassr of Saudi Arabia
forward believes it is time to focus
on the team's fitness rather than
the form of the players prior to the
Nations Cup.
"Its flattering to be appreciated
for what you have done with your
Amuneke
targets
second round
with Tanzania
Nigeria’s manager of
Tanzania national team,
Emmanuel Amuneke has promised
to do everything to take the team
beyond the group stage; The
Tanzanians are drawn in Group C
with Africa’s highest ranked team,
Senegal, Algeria and Kenya.
Amuneke, scorer of the two goals
that won the Africa Cup of Nations
for Nigeria in 1994, qualified
Tanzania to the competition for the
first time in nearly 40 years.
His resilient side put up defensive
strategy that nearly frustrated Egypt
in last week’s friendly match. The
seven times- African champion
eventually won 1-0.
“We played to close spaces against
Egypt and we succeeded. Our goal
is to improve as much as we can and
improve our performances,” the
Zamalek legend said.
“Of course we’re playing in a
tough group, but we’ll do our best
to qualify for the second round.
“I don’t think that Senegal will be
weaker without Mane, he’s a big
player but they have other great
players and are a big candidate to
lift the tournament,” he concluded.
Amuneke who had played for
Zamalek in Egypt is banking on the
Egyptian support for his team
during the competition as his team
is not in the same group with the
hosts.
Tanzania will kick-off their first
AFCON game in 39 years on June
23 against Senegal in the 30 June
stadium.
AFCON 2019:
Musa prays for
injury free Eagles
club before a major tournament
like this (AFCON)," Musa,
who won the Saudi
Professional Football
League said.
"Now we are going
for the Nations Cup
and our prayer and
expectations
should be to be
injury free.
" T h e
players
h a v e
worked hard t o
qualify the team
for the Nations C u p
so we hope that no one suffers any
injury," Musa, who was in the
Eagles side that won the AFCON
in 2013 stressed.
Musa scored seven league
goals in 24 appearances in the
2018/2019 season for his club.
International
Dream Cup:
Future Eagles
finish third,
return today
Nigeria's U15 boys on
Sunday lost their final
game of the 2019 International
Dream Cup to their European
counterparts Romania 2-1 at the
Yurtec Stadium in Miyagi.
The game which was played on
Sunday morning saw the Future
Eagles bag a second consecutive
defeat at the U16 tournament in
Japan. Nigeria started the
tournament with a 3-1 win over
Mexico on 12th June, but lost
against the host country Japan on
14th June and against Romania
on the last day of the tournament
on 16th June.
Future Eagles head coach,
Haruna Ilerika made two changes
into the line-up against Mexico.
Sulaimon Lawal started his first
game of the tournament with the
team captain, Oluwatobi Adeleke
rested, while Ejiofor Chidera
started ahead of Damilola
Adeyeye.
Nigeria dominated the first
half with beautiful build-up play
from the back, but lacked the right
decisions in the final third with
the trio of Egesionu
Sopuruchukwu, Opeyemi Qudus
and Evbuomwan Gift finding it
difficult to crack down the
compact Romania defence.
Robert Todol scored in both
halves for Romania while
Sopuruchukwu scored a late
consolation for the Future Eagles.
Todol scored his first goal of the
game late in the first half after a
defensive mix-up by the Nigerian
boys.
Romania resumed the second
half as the better side, and Todol
completed his brace of the match
two minutes into the second half.
It was a late improved
performance for the Future
Eagles as they dominated the last
15 minutes in the second half
chasing for goals. Sopuruchukwu
reduced the deficit in the 90th
minute for Nigeria, his beautiful
header beating Romania
goalkeeper Robert Popa after
connecting with John Mark’s
pull-out from the right. Nigeria
were close to getting the
equalizer in the additional
minute but team captain Adeleke
headed wide from close range
despite connecting well with
Kelvin Agho’s cross from the left.