Barcelona tops after doubles from Messi and Suarez

On target: Lionel Messi scored twice last night

Barcelona battered Roma 6-1 at the Nou Camp, with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez both claiming a brace. Gerard Pique and Adriano also scored, with Neymar missing a penalty but impressing in link play.

 

 Edin Dzeko missed a first-half sitter for Roma, then a late penalty, only to nod home with the game's final act.

Barca's victory secures top spot in Group E, and will leave the rest of Europe on high alert to their chances of going the distance in the tournament.
Earlier, Bayer Leverkusen drew 1-1 at BATE Borisov with Mikhail Gordeichuk giving the home side the lead only for Admir Mehmedi to level for the German side just past the hour mark.
Zenit St Petersburg saw off Valencia 2-0 for their fifth straight European win to guarantee top spot in Group H.
Andre Villas-Boas' men eased home thanks to goals from Oleg Shatov and Artem Dzyuba.
Gent grabbed a last-16 lifeline with a 2-1 victory at Lyon that dumps the French side out of European competition.

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Lyon started well with Jordan Ferri putting them ahead after seven minutes, only for Danijel Milicevic to equalise for the visitors with a curling free-kick.
Lyon pressed hard for the winner throughout the second half but Gent stole the points right at the end when Kalifa Coulibaly headed home a corner at the second attempt, some five minutes into stoppage time.
Dynamo Kiev had a surprise 2-0 win at Porto to give themselves a great chance of progressing. Victory moves Kiev to within two points of Porto and Chelsea, and a home win over Maccabi Tel-Aviv would be enough to go through.

Barcelona's Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez celebrates after scoring during the UEFA Champions League Group E football match FC Barcelona vs AS Roma at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on November 24, 2015. 

Arsenal 3-0 Dinamo Zagreb: Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez keep Gunners' Champions League destiny in their own hands

• Ozil gave Arsene Wenger's side the lead on 29 minutes, capping off a fine move with a close-range header
• Sanchez doubled the lead four minutes later, pouncing on Nacho Monreal's pass to coolly slot past Eduardo
• Chilean added a third in the second half, latching on to Joel Campbell's pinpoint pass before finishing with aplomb
• The result puts Arsenal into the Europa League knockout stages at least before the tie at Olympiacos in a fortnight
• Arsenal look to become first team since Galatasaray in 2012 to progress to last 16 after losing their first two games
• Arsene Wenger has a proud record of reaching the Champions League knockout stages for the last 15 straight years

At some point the prospect of Arsenal playing in the Europa League hit home. That cruel terrace taunt - ‘Thursday nights, Channel Five’ - just wouldn't sound right for any team managed by Arsene Wenger.

Arsenal are a Champions League club and they have the record to prove it after qualifying for the knockout rounds in each of the last 15 seasons. They are a team with pedigree. Wenger and his team are hanging on in there, they really are.

Arsenal have won only two of their five fixtures in Group F and yet they will maintain their proud record in this competition if they can win their final game against Olympiacos. Wenger has already accepted that Arsenal are a million miles away from competing with Bayern Munich or Barcelona over two legs when it comes to crunch time, but getting out of this group would still feel like an achievement.

They won easily at the Emirates, finally breaking down Dinamo’s defence when Mesut Ozil scored with a diving header in the 29th minute and adding two more via Alexis Sanchez. 

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Alexis Sanchez was in captivating form, scoring two and setting up the opener on another typically energetic display for the Chilean

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Ozil stoops to nod Sanchez's cross beyond Dinamo keeper Eduardo to give Arsenal the lead in a must-win Champions League tie

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Ozil celebrates his goal which helped Arsenal seal their second win of an uneven European campaign

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Ozil finished a lightning-fast counter-attack, meeting Sanchez's cross with a diving header inside the six-yard box

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Sanchez celebrates his goal which seemed to put the game beyond the visitors as the Premier League side took charge of the game

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Sanchez (centre) was in the right place at the right time as he clinically finished Nacho Monreal's pass to double Arsenal's advantage

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Arsenal look forward to their trip to Greece in a fortnight, knowing victory by two clear goals will seal progression to the knockout stage

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Sanchez took the ball round Eduardo and slotted home from a tight angle after fine work from Joel Campbell to add a deserved third

TEAMS, SAMI MOKBEL'S RATINGS, FIXTURES, PERMUTATIONS, CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TABLE AND MATCH ZONE 

ARSENAL (4-2-3-1): Cech 6, Bellerin 7.5 (Debuchy 82), Mertesacker 6, Koscielny 6, Monreal 7.5, Flamini 7, Cazorla 7 (Chambers 82), Campbell 6.5, Ozil 8, Sanchez 8.5, Giroud 6 (Ramsey 69, 6.5). Subs not used: Ospina, Gibbs, Gabriel, Reine-Adelaide

Booked: Monreal. Goals: Ozil 29, Sanchez 33, 69. Manager: Arsene Wenger 7

DINAMO ZAGREB (4-2-3-1): Eduardo 6.5, Ivo Pinto 6, Sigali 5, Taravel 6, Matel 6.5, Paulo Machado 6.5 (Coric), Santos 6.5, Antolic 6 (Henriquez 71), Pjaca 6, Rog 5.5, Fernandes 6 (Soudani 57, 6). Subs not used: Mikulic, Musa, Sovsic, Pavicic

Manager: Mamic 5

MOTM: Sanchez

Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary) 6.5

Attendance: 58,978

TO PLAY — Dec 9: Dinamo Zagreb v Bayern Munich, Olympiacos v Arsenal.

TO QUALIFY: Arsenal must beat Olympiacos in Greece on the final match day by more than two goals — or by one goal if they score at

least four. 

Mesut Ozil finished off a brilliant move for the first.

EURO WOE COULD SEE GUNNERS MISS OUT ON MILLIONS

Arsenal still have much to do and if they are knocked out of the Champions League, they could miss out on a maximum of nearly £30million in prize money, not to mention millions from TV broadcasting deals.

Round of 16...................£3.9m

Quarter-finals............£4.26m

Semi-finals..................£4.97m

Runners-up.................£7.45m

Winners......................£10.65m

With that Dinamo were done and Wenger will be glad to see the back of them after serially accusing them of beating UEFA’s rules after one of their players was banned for using a performance enhancing drug when they beat Arsenal 2-1.

Dinamo’s resistance was token and amateurish at times, with their defence sliding all over the pitch when Ozil, Sanchez and Santi Cazorla stepped up a gear. All three showed their class in Arsenal colours.

They sidestep challenges for fun, with the feet of Dinamo’s central defensive pairing of Leonardo Sigali and Jeremy Taravel swinging through the air during a punishing first half.

What are we getting with Arsenal in the Champions League these days? No-one is really sure, not even their fans after they failed to fill the Emirates for a match they simply had to win.

The place was barely two-thirds full, a protest at Arsenal’s failure to get the job done and qualify for the knock-out rounds in their opening four group games. They are usually home and hosed by now.

They are dicing with danger this year, struggling to find their rhythm in the competition after defeats against Dinamo Zagreb and Bayern Munich away, along with the catastrophic loss at home to Olympiacos. They are hanging on, and they know it.

2015 Glo-CAF Awards: Abuja gets set to host Africa

In a press statement released on Tuesday in Lagos, Globacom said: “The Glo-CAF Awards 2015 is where you will meet the greatest African football legends, including the new African Footballer of the Year and winners in 12 other categories.

The city of Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, is already agog with excitement as it prepares to host top stakeholders in the African football community at the 2015 Glo-CAF Awards on January 7, 2016.

Abuja is hosting the awards for the second time, having hosted the inaugural edition of Glo-CAF Awards in 2005.

In a press statement released on Tuesday in Lagos, Globacom said: “The Glo-CAF Awards 2015 is where you will meet the greatest African football legends, including the new African Footballer of the Year and winners in 12 other categories.”

The categories include African Player of The Year (Based in Africa), National Team of The Year, Club of The Year and Coach of The Year.

Other categories are Women’s National Team of The Year, Women’s Footballer of The Year, Most Promising Talent, Referee of The Year, Legend of The year, Fair Play Award, Platinum Award, which has only one nominee and Africa Finest XI.

Abuja, Nigeria was announced as the host of 2015 Glo-CAF Awards by the Confederation of African Football in October this year and sponsors and organizers of the event, Globacom, said plans are afoot to stage a memorable Awards gala for the second time in Nigeria’s federal capital.

The event is expected to congregate top football celebrities across Africa, as well as top government officials from Nigeria, Ghana and other parts of Africa, the statement said.

As usual, the Awards and possible winners have been the subject of discussions in the media and among football fans and youth across Africa.

The list of top 10 contenders for the 2015 African Footballer of the Year and 10 nominees for Africa Footballer of the Year (Africa-based) was recently released by Confederation of African Football.

Since Glo took over the sponsorship in 2005, the event has been held in several cities in Africa.

Accra, Ghana hosted the 2006 edition, while the 2007 edition was held in Lome, Togo.

The city of Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre, hosted the event for the first time in 2008, before it moved back to Accra in 2009.

Cairo, the capital of Egypt, hosted the 2010 edition of the award, while the event was held back-to-back in Accra, Ghana in 2011 and 2012.

Lagos hosted the 2013 and 2014 editions.

Copyright The Eagle Online.
Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.theeagleonline.com.ng as the source.

FIFA want to ban Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini for LIFE over £1.3m payment

• Michel Platini's lawyer confirmed FIFA want UEFA president banned for life
• The maximum sanction was asked when a final case report was submitted
• Report was submitted by the FIFA ethics committee investigations unit  
• Frenchman is serving a 90-day ban over a £1.3m payment of FIFA money
• Sepp Blatter insists the payment followed an oral agreement with Platini, of which no record exists

Published: 12:36 GMT, 24 November 2015 | Updated: 21:35 GMT, 24 November 2015

The game is finally up for the two biggest beasts in the football jungle. Banned duo, UEFA and FIFA leaders Michel Platini and Sepp Blatter, are in danger of receiving lifetime bans on corruption charges brought by the FIFA ethics committee.

Platini’s lawyer Thibaud D’Ales has confirmed that the investigatory chamber have recommended the huge sanction - and it’s likely the same sentence applies to Blatter.

Even if adjudicatory chamber chairman Hans-Joachim Eckert delivers a shorter ban next month, it will still be the deathknell for the two most powerful men in world football. 

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Michel Platini's lawyer has confirmed that the FIFA ethics committee have requested a life ban

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The 60-year-old will have formal hearing into allegations of FIFA's ethics code being breached

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Platini is serving a 90-day ban over a £1.3m payment of FIFA money he received in 2011 as backdated salary

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Outgoing FIFA president Sepp Blatter (right) also faces formal hearing into allegations over the payment

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Blatter insists the late payment followed an oral agreement with Platini for consultancy work nine years earlier

THE ALLEGATION

'Disloyal' payment of two million Swiss francs (£1.35million) to Michel Platini at the expense of FIFA in February 2011.

The recommended lifetime ban follows neither Blatter nor Platini being able to satisfactorily explain the £1.35million cheque paid to the Frenchman in 2011 for consultancy work for the FIFA president completed nine years earlier.

The pair also face charges of mismanagement, conflict of interests, false accounting and non-co-operation with or criticising the ethics committee.

Blatter insists the late payment followed an oral agreement with Platini, of which no record exists. The deposed FIFA overlord also claims that only the FIFA Congress, and not the ethics committee, can remove him. 

It’s Olympic ticket or nothing – Awoniyi

Previous Flying Eagles star, Taiwo Awoniyi has uncovered his yearning and those of his colleagues to acquire the privilege to speak to Africa in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games as they crusade for distinctions at the CAF Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations starting this weekend in Dakar, Senegal.

Awoniyi, scored twice against Zambia to place Nigeria into the competition amid the qualifiers and as he joined the group from his base in Germany on Monday, he expressed that Nigeria have the players to win the competition


Awoniyi

furthermore, it was a matter of striving to accomplish their set targets.

"It is about diligent work and it is work time. Meeting all requirements for the Rio Olympics is non-debatable as we have no reason to give Nigerians, that is the reason we need to put in our best to get something out of Senegal," said Awoniyi who stars for FSV Frankfurt.

Mentor Samson Siasia expressed that he is putting money on Awoniyi and Junior Ajayi to answer the group's objective scoring issues.

"We are expecting the welcomed outside based strikers like Awoniyi and Junior Ajayi who have been with the group for quite a while before they swung experts to utilize their recently earned experience to offer the group some assistance with scoring objectives in the opposition.

"We are focusing on winning the opposition or better still pick one of the capability tickets for the 2016 Olympic Games."

The group is required to leave for Dakar by 11.00pm toward the beginning of today. They will play their first match against Mali on Sunday. Egypt and Algeria are alternate groups in gathering B of the competition. The initial three finishers consequently fits the bill for the Olympics, while the fourth will go for a play of.

Mikel mulls Blues exit

Super Eagles midfielder, John Obi Mikel may be forced to leave Chelsea during the January window following lack of playing time under coach Jose Mourinho.
Mikel, has not featured for the Blues since his only Premier League start of the season and
his agent John Shittu revealed they will wait and see when it comes to his Chelsea future, with the transfer window set to open in just over a month.
“The player had offers to move at the beginning of the season, but Chelsea refused to sell because they probably have him in their plans.”
“Now we have to wait and see what happens.”
The 28-year-old was the subject of a number of transfer offers in the summer but stayed at Stamford Bridge, his home since arriving back in 2006. But he has found his route to regular football blocked by the likes of Ramires and Nemanja Matic and his last appearance was a start against Liverpool in late October.

Rafa Benitez finds himself in a tight corner

Barcelona loss haunts coach as Real Madrid travel to Shakhtar Donetsk

Image Credit: Reuters

Real Madrid’s coach Rafa Benitez (R) talks to players Luka Modric (C) and Marcelo during a training session, a day ahead of their “Clasico” soccer match against Barcelona, at the Valdebebas training grounds outside Madrid, Spain, November 20, 2015. 

 

Madrid: The pressure on Real Madrid coach Rafa Benitez is intense in the wake of Saturday’s 4-0 trouncing at the hands of Barcelona in the Clasico as they take on Ukraine’s Shakhtar in an away game on Wednesday.
While they can head to Ukraine with the pressure off having already secured their place in the last 16, a win in Lviv will guarantee top spot. Shakhtar are top of the Ukrainian league but realistically need a win to maintain any hope of reaching the knockout stages themselves.
Real president Florentino Perez gave his manager the vote of confidence, but another setback could mean the end of the line for the coach, no matter what the president says.
Spanish media were already discussing Benitez’s replacement, and the name atop the list was Zinedine Zidane, the former France great, who is coaching Madrid’s ‘B’ team in the third division. Although he says he is not in a hurry to get promoted, Zidane’s name will be mentioned every time Real fail to get a win.
“I’m coaching Castilla now. Benitez is the coach of the first team and things are fine like that,” the 43-year-old Zidane told Spanish media. “I still have a long way to go.”
Some fans have also called for the return of Italian coach Carlos Ancelotti, who helped Real win their 10th European title two seasons ago. And there have been some reports that Fabio Capello, currently out a job, could be the next in line.
To keep the president on his side and stay in the job, Benitez needs to find a way to get Real back on track.
“We are all responsible and now we have to show unity in order to win the next game and give the fans something to be happy about, which is something we failed to do (against Barcelona),” the 55-year-old Benitez said. “We need to get over this result and focus on the next match as soon as possible.”
Things were just fine for the coach until two weeks ago, when Real lost for the first time in a Spanish league match at Sevilla. Real had been leading the league and winning games with ease despite a series of injuries to their regular starters.
They advanced to the knockout stage of the Champions League with two rounds to go, and are likely to finish first in their group ahead of Paris Saint-Germain.
Benitez defends himself by pointing to the team’s numbers this season. Real’s only bad result prior to the consecutive losses was a home draw against Malaga, when goalkeeper Carlos Kameni was the man of the match after stopping everything Real’s strikers threw at him.
Real had won four of their first five league games, outscoring opponents 14-1. They drew at Atletico Madrid 1-1, then won the next three matches by at least two goals.
Among the key players injured early in the season were Keylor Navas, Sergio Ramos, James Rodriguez, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema. The game against Barcelona marked only the second time that Benitez had all of his players available.
“We need to give him some time,” Perez said on Monday in a hastily scheduled news conference to show the club’s “unequivocal” support to the coach. “We are confident that he can turn things around.”
After the Barcelona loss, many criticised Benitez for starting with a lineup that left the team too exposed. But before the game, others had criticised him for playing too defensively.
“With the match now over, we can clearly say that the lineup didn’t work,” said the coach, who was hired by Real less than six months ago. “I pick my teams by trying to manage the group as best as possible.”

 

Osimhen Replaces Success As Siasia Officially Names U-23 AFCON Squad

 

The head coach of the Nigeria U-23 national team Samson Siasia has selected Chile U-17 World Cup highest goal scorer Victor Osihmen and 20 other players to represent Nigeria at this month’s Africa U-23 Cup of Nations coming up in Senegal, the Nigeria Football Federation has announced.
Osimhen replaces Granada’s Isaac Success, who was initially included but was not released by the club embroiled in a La Liga relegation battle.
According to the list released by Siasia in Banjul, after the team’s second friendly game against the Gambian U-20 national team, Baby Scorpions, the Chile revelation will be joined by captain of the team and Turkey-based defensive midfielder Azubuike Okechukwu who is leading a list of three foreign-based players which includes  Liverpool’s Taiwo Awoniyi and CS Sfaxien of Tunisia’s Ajayi Junior.
From the Nigerian league, Rangers of Enugu goalkeeper Emmanuel Daniel, Warri Wolves’ Oghenekaro Etebo, Bayelsa United’s Tonbara Tiongoli, Sincere Seth, Segun Oduduwa and Ndifreke Effiong were all selected, while there were some new faces like Seun Olulayo, Godspower Aniefiok, Kufre Ebong, Zaradeen Bello amongst others.
Addressing the dropped players,  Siasia told them not to feel discouraged at being dropped, but to see their dropping as a call for them to work harder for the Olympic Games proper of the team qualifies.
“I feel sad telling you guys to go, but the truth is that only 21 players will have to make the trip to Senegal, and these selected ones are those the technical crew have seen to be able to give us an Olympic ticket in Senegal. Don’t feel discouraged, go back to your clubs and keep on working on your game, you will have your chance to be part of the team,” Siasia said.
Meanwhile the U-23 Eagles on Monday evening at the Brikama Boxbar Stadium were held to a 1-1 draw by the Gambian U-20 national team.
The Nigeria U-23s captained by Oghenekaro Etebo dominated the game from the blast of the referees whistle, but the resolute defence of the Baby Scorpions held their ground to ensure that the first half ended goalless.
On resumption of the second half,  Siasia brought in Osimhen for Kufre Ebong, Bature Yaro for Usman Mohammed, Zaradeen Bello for Chizoba Amaefule, Junior Ajayi for Tonbara Tiongoli, and these changes inspired the team as they took total control of the game to the admiration of all present and not long after scored through Stanley Dimgba, but the center referee ruled it off for an infringement.
The U-23 Eagles continued their dominance and in the 53rd minute, Godspower Aniefiok was fouled while he was goal-bound by the Gambian goalkeeper and Captain Etebo converted from the spot.
 Minutes later it was the turn of the Gambians to be gifted a penalty as Ndifreke Effiong handled the ball in his box and the resultant penalty was converted by Pa Omar Babou.
Impressed with the tough opposition presented by the Baby Scorpions Siadia requested for a rematch on Wednesday before the team departs for Senegal.
The team is expected to depart for Dakar, Senegal on Thursday, while their first game will be on Sunday against Algeria.


The full squad
1. Emmanuel Daniel
2. Yusuf Mohammed
3. Emmanuel Iwu
4. Segun Oduduwa
5. Sincere Seth
6. Azubuike Okechukwu
7. Ajayi Junior
8. Oghenekaro Etebo
9. Taiwo Awoniyi
10. Usman Mohammed
11. Ndifreke Effiong
12. Chukwuebuka Iroha
13. Stanley Dimgba
14. Godspower Aniefiok
15. Bature Yaro‎
16. Zaradeen Bello
17. Amaefule Chizoba
18.  Seun Olulayo
19. Tiongoli Tonbara
20. Kufre Ebong
21. Victor Osimhen

Abia Warriors sack coach Ladan Bosso

Abia Warriors have fired their coach, Ladan Bosso.
The club’s management are not happy with their 10th place finish in the just concluded 2014/2015 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) season.
As a result, it was decided at a board meeting over the weekend, that a change was needed and Bosso’s contract will not be renewed.
“We finished sixth on the log during the 2013/2014 season but during the concluded 2014/2015 season, we found ourselves in the 10th position on the final log,” an Abia Warriors official told Complete Sports.
“Does that show we are moving forward or backwards?”
When contacted, Bosso, however, denied he was sacked and claimed that he left his role at the Umuahia club.
“I’ve not received any correspondence from Abia Warriors terminating my appointment,” the former Flying Eagles coach said.
“Instead, I was the one that told them I was no longer interested in continuing working with the club.
“One of my major reasons for not wanting to continue and which I made very clear to them was that I did not achieve my personal target for the club which was securing a continental ticket for them.
“Get me clear, getting a continental ticket was never part of the contract I signed but as a coach, I always have my personal target anywhere I work.
“I’m grateful to the government of Abia State; I’m grateful to the management of Abia Warriors headed by Emeka Inyama.
“It was a nice and wonderful working relationship we enjoyed and I’m happy and would always cherish my moments with the club.
“When I left Lagos on Monday (November 23), I boarded the same plane with him and that shows the unity and understanding we enjoyed at Abia Warriors.”

Kelechi Iheanacho ruled out of African U-23 Championship

Kelechi Iheanacho.

Manchester City’s Kelechi Iheanacho will not be available to coach Samson Siasia during the 2015 African U-23 Championship.
The forward, who recently made his debut for the senior team against Swaziland, will not join up with the Dream Team VI, as they seek to qualify for next year’s Olympics in Rio.
“The initial plans I had with the player and his representative was that he would join us at least five days to the competition and also help the team till the semi-finals stage which he agreed but later he told somebody very close to me that his club Manchester City is not convinced to release him again since he was dumped on the bench at the last Fifa U20 World Cup under Coach Manu Garba. So as it is right now, I don’t think Kelechi Iheanacho will join us again,” Siasia told Goal.
“The good news is that Junior Ajayi who is based in Tunisia has since Sunday joined us and we are expecting the team captain Azubuike (Okechukwu) and Taiwo Awoniyi to arrive on Tuesday so that we can have a full house to concentrate on for the tournament.”
Siasia also admitted that his team was still finding it difficult to score goals, but vowed to work on their finishing.
“This team has been creating a lot of chances in competitive matches and test matches but the problem is that they used to waste these begging chances which are not good for a team aspiring to win tournaments,” he continued.
“We are expecting the invited foreign based strikers like Awoniyi and Junior Ajayi who have been with the team for some time before they turned professionals to use their newly garnered experience to help the team score goals in the competition.
“We are targeting winning the competition or better still pick one of the qualification tickets for the 2016 Olympic Games.”
The former Eagles handler confessed he has been affected by the kidnap of his mother, but was doing all he can to ensure the U-23 does well.
“I will confess to you the kidnap of my mother really affects me but this is a national assignment which I need to make sure we get the qualification ticket for next year’s Olympics in Brazil,” he added.
“I want everybody most especially the federal government led by president Muhammadu Buhari, Bayelsa State Government and the Inspector General of Police to help me secure the release of my mother.”
Nigeria have been grouped alongside Mali, Egypt and Algeria.