All eyes on Uche as Eagles clash with Devils

Ikechukwu Uche

Hope they will win ooo....All eyes will again be on Villarreal forward Ikechukwu Uche as Nigeria take on Congo in a make-or-break 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying   Group A encounter in Pointe Noire on Saturday.

The Super Eagles head into the battle against the Red Devils with no option but to take home all three points – to blow the race for the continental finals qualification wide open. The Confederation of African Football on Friday named Equatorial Guinea as the hosts of the competition after Morocco on Tuesday pulled out of hosting the 57-year-old championship scheduled to take place from January 17 to February 8 over Ebola fears.

South Africa, who face Sudan in the other group fixture at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban same day, top the table on eight points followed by Congo on seven points.

Nigeria are third in the group standings with four points followed by Sudan in the bottom of the log on   three points.

Leaders South Africa look assured of a place in the tournament as Bafana Bafana are favourites for victory against Sudan to stretch their lead in the table to 11 points.

A win for the Eagles in the Pointe Noire clash will see Nigeria tied at seven points with the Red Devils in the table. Conversely, the Red Devils will stretch their advantage to seven points (11 points in the table) if they beat Nigeria, meaning they will sail through with Bafana Bafana (if they beat Sudan) – as the outcomes of the final fixtures will not change the standings.

Nigeria will collect a maximum of eight points if they lose in Pointe Noire today and beat South Africa in the last group match on November 19 in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. Sudan will receive a maximum of six points if they suffer a defeat at the hands of South Africa in Durban and defeat Congo in the last fixture.

However, there could be a change to the calculation if the Eagles pull out all stops to pick up three points against their hosts in Pointe Noire and Sudan beat South Africa at home, meaning the two available tickets for Equatorial Guinea 2015 will be booked on the last day (November 19).

With Congo likely to park the bus   and play for a simple draw – and end the African champions’ hopes of defending their title in Equatorial Guinea – Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi will look to Uche to ignite the Eagles’ weak   attack and   turn it into a potent attacking force for victory.

The congolese defence will do everything they can to frustrate Uche, who will be out to prove a point.

The Eagles backed themselves into a corner after their shock defeat 3-2 to Congo in their group opening game in Calabar on September 6 followed by another shock loss (1-0) at the hands of Sudan in Khartoum on October 11. The defeat came after the Eagles battled to a goalless draw against South Africa in Cape Town on September 10.

Nigeria defeated   Sudan 3-1 in the reverse fixture in Abuja on October 15 to move from the bottom of the table to revive their qualification hopes.

Following Nigeria’s poor performance in the qualifiers, some fans and media pundits clamoured for Uche to be recalled to the national team by Keshi.

Uche, whose last appearance for Nigeria was in the final of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations final in South Africa won by the Eagles, was omitted from the squad for the summer   World Cup in Brazil, despite the 30-year-old   scoring 14 goals for his Spanish La Liga outfit Villarreal last season.

But Keshi, who was recalled to his post after he was sacked by the Nigeria Football Federation after guiding the Eagles to victory against the Sudanese, bowed to pressure and called up Uche for today’s game against Congo as well as for the last qualifying clash against South Africa.

Meanwhile, the former Real Zaragoza striker has declared his readiness to help the Eagles play themselves back into contention for a place in the African finals.

“Happy to be among those selected to play CONGO and S.A God bless Nigeria @NGSuperEagles #qualifiers #AFCON2015,” Uche wrote on his Twitter page shortly after his invitation.

Keshi could adopt a 4-3-3 formation with Uche deployed behind off-form Fenerbahce forward Emmanuel Emenike and CSKA Moscow’s Ahmed Musa patrolling the flanks.

The former Nigeria captain may keep faith with the trio of Chelsea’s   Mikel Obi, Reading’s Hope Akpan, Turkey-based Raheem Lawal in the midfield. Lazio midfielder Ogenyi Onazi is likely to retain his place in his new role in the right-back alongside Godfrey Oboabona, Kenneth Omeruo and Juwon Oshaniwa in the rear. Lille’s Vincent Enyeama is favourite for a starting role ahead of his Israel-based goalkeeping rival Austin Ejide.

The Eagles will aim to revenge the defeat by the Central Africans in the first leg to keep their qualification hopes alive.

And Keshi, who helped Nigerian win the second time at Tunisia ’94 as a player and guided the team to a third triumph at South Africa 2013, said during the week   that the Eagles would qualify for their 17th Africa Cup of Nations.

“We have said we can qualify (for the tournament) and we are ready for that task, now is time for action and less talk,” the 52-year-old former Anderlecht defender was quoted as saying in a statement by the team’s Media officer Ben Alaiya.

When Nigeria walked a tightrope in the USA ’94 World Cup qualifiers, Keshi played a pivotal role in the Eagles’ 1-0 victory over the Red Devils in Pointe Noire on December 20, 1992.

Dutchman Clemens Westerhof opted for a defensive game with Keshi commanding Uche Okafor (late), Uche Okechukwu, Ben Iroha and Austin Eguavoen in the rear after Rashidi Yekini (late) hit the target in the 22nd minute.

Other players who featured in the crucial win, which revived Nigeria’s qualification hopes, were Mutiu Adepoju, Samson Siasia, Finidi George, Alloy Agu, Precious Monye, Friday Ekpo (came in for Finidi), and Taofik Malik (came in for Monye). Nigeria won the return leg fixture 2-0 in Lagos on February 7, 1993.

But Congo coach Claude Le Roy has vowed to lead his side to victory over Nigeria again.

The well-travelled Frenchman, who became the Red Devils manager in   2013, will face Keshi for the fourth time.

Keshi was 26-year-old when he captained Nigeria at the 1988 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. Nigeria met Cameroon, with Le Roy their manager, in the group stages of the tournament and they settled for a 1-1 draw.

The Eagles shot into the lead in the second minute through Sam Okwaraji (late) but the Indomitable Lions   equalised after   21 minutes after Roger Milla beat Peter Rufai in goal.

Cameroon won the tournament after beating Nigeria   1-0 through Emmanuel Kunde’s 55th minute penalty to become champions for the second time at Nigeria’s expense. Cameroon had won the 1984 finals in Ivory Coast after defeating Nigeria 3-1 in the final.

Former Ghana coach Le Roy, who guided Congo to a 3-2 win against Nigeria in Calabar last September, is confident Congo will stop Nigeria this time around.

“I’m sure that we shall qualify for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations because we are not going to lose at home to Nigeria,” Goal quoted the 66-year-old as saying recently.

“I’m confident that we shall beat Nigeria, which will guarantee our place in next year’s tournament.

“The magic for us was beating Nigeria in Calabar, that result was so crucial for us and we are not going to let our effort go in vain when Nigeria comes to Congo.”

Meanwhile, four-time champions Cameroon will seal their place in   the competition if they pick up a draw in their Group D game against DR Congo in Yaounde on Saturday.

Algeria and Cape Verde have already qualified for the tournament.