A dinner party planned for the
victorious Super Eagles on Monday night after the 6-1 defeat of Tahiti
in their FIFA Confederation Cup match was cancelled at the instance of
FIFA.
A PANA report late Tuesday said
that the team was billed to have the dinner at Restaurant Atelier in
Savassi centre in Belo Horizonte but FIFA officials, citing security
reasons, prevented the Nigerian players from leaving their hotel at
Belvedere. The FIFA security officials based their decision on the
street protests in Belo Horizonte and some other parts of Brazil.
One of the organisers of the dinner, Olusegun Akinruli, lamented the turn of events.
He said, “It is sad, but we have to
understand the concerns of FIFA. We would have loved to celebrate the
victory with guests of Nigerian roots.”
Eagles are up against Uruguay Thursday
night in their second Group match and Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi says
they are ready to take on any team now.
“We’re on a good swing and the mood is
great,” Keshi said in Salvador on Wednesday. “There’s nothing to be
apprehensive about. We have no injury worries and the boys will simply
go in there and give their best for country and continent.”
Victory over Uruguay will lift Nigeria
to six points and a place in the semi finals, ahead of the game against
Spain in Fortaleza on Sunday.
As Nigerians say they are set the
Uruguayans and also targeting a semi-final berth. One of their star
players Diego Forlan is poised to win his 100th cap as Uruguay, with
their backs to the wall after losing their opener to Spain, face
Nigeria.
“We absolutely must win to have the chance of going further in the Cup,” Forlan told Reuters on Wednesday.
“They won the match they had to win,
scored lots of goals and even a draw will be better for them than us,”
said the 34-year-old striker, best player at the 2010 World Cup.
“Nigeria have good players, many play
in Europe, they are physically strong, it won’t be at all easy, it will
be a hard match,” added Forlan, who will also be looking to add to his
Uruguay tally of 33 goals.
Copa America holders Uruguay lost 2-1 to
world champions Spain in their opener on Sunday with Forlan coming on
as a 69th-minute substitute.
A draw could leave Uruguay needing a
big-scoring win in their last match against Tahiti and a Spanish win
over Nigeria on Sunday to stand any chance of a place in the
semi-finals.
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Too early to party. Please concentrate. More grease to your elbows, up Nigeria.
ReplyDeleteThanks much FIFA. Our ppl can be foolish most times. What calls for that celebration when the battle has not even started? They better concentrate on contending with Uruguay after which they can party upon winning.
ReplyDeleteStupid party, qualify out of the 1st stages b4 any celebration. Face ur front and leave partying 4 now. Obi.
ReplyDeleteToo early to party I say also
ReplyDelete