Guinea, Mali can overtake Eagles – Babalade Ajibade Babalade admits he has been blown away by the quality of football at 30th Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea, crediting the performances of Guinea and Mali in their fixtures in the tournament so far. Guinea occupy the 39th place in the world and sixth in Africa in the latest FIFA rankings. Mali are 49th in the world and 10th on the continent. Nigeria are placed 43rd in the world and ninth in Africa. And the former Nigeria defender has warned the Super Eagles they risk being overshadowed by the two teams if they fail to bounce back strongly from their failure to qualify for Equatorial Guinea 2015. A youthful Guinean side on Tuesday held the star-studded Ivory Coast led by the reigning African Footballer of the Year Yaya toure to a 1-1 draw in their Group D opening game, while Cameroon earned a late point against a diligent and disciplined Malian team in their other group fixture the same day. The clash also ended 1-1. Mali face Ivory Coast on Saturday while Cameroon tackle Guinea in the other group fixture, and Senegal ’92 Africa Cup of Nations bronze medallist Babalade expects explosive performances from Guinea and Mali in their ties. The former Shooting Stars player, who insists “nobody is missing Nigeria in the tournament,” says the championship has the characteristics of the modern game. “The Super Eagles don’t deserve to be in Equatorial Guinea because we didn’t give everything to qualify for the competition,” Babalade told our correspondent on the telephone during the week. “Nobody is missing Nigeria in the tournament because the standard has been very high. The competition has changed a lot and many teams are rebuilding for the future. “Guinea and Mali have been impressive in the competition. They both have quality young players. “Judging by what I have seen in the tournament, countries like Guinea and Mali can overtake Nigeria. “‘There’s no point pretending. Our football is dying. We must act fast to save the situation to avoid being overtaken by smaller countries.” The ex-SK Sturm Graz star popularly called Kunde added, “We didn’t qualify for the competition in Equatorial Guinea due to infighting. “Our football was in crisis during the qualifiers because of the problems in the Nigeria Football Federation. “There was a lot of distraction in the team. Apart from the NFF crisis, the coach (Stephen Keshi) came under attack from many Nigerians, including some of his ex-teammates, after we lost to 2-0 to France in the second of the World Cup in Brazil. This affected concentration in the team and the result is what we are suffering today.” He urged the NFF and the Eagles to learn from their mistakes and work harder to enable Nigeria to retain their elite status on the continent. “First and foremost, the NFF should tell the world if they will renew Keshi’s contract or not. “If his services are no longer needed, another coach should be appointed to begin work on rebuilding the team. “I believe Keshi has performed. He won the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations and took us to the second round of the World Cup. I believe he would have led us to Equatorial Guinea if he had got the support of the NFF and the media, who kept attacking him for introducing young players to the national team. “This is what Cameroon has done. Samuel Eto’o and Alex Song are no longer in the team – but they have young players who are playing well. “The NFF should make a decision on Keshi. If he’s not wanted, let them sit down with the new coach to plan for the future of the team. “We need new defenders because Godfrey Oboabona, Kenneth Omeruo and Efe Ambrose are not dependable.” Copyright PUNCH.All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH. Contact: editor@punchng ift.tt/1yENbgG ift.tt/1yENfgF [[Boost your social presence with NAIRALIKES nairalikes ]] #nigeria x #nairalikes #vanguardng
Posted on: Sat, 24 Jan 2015 00:41:28 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015