Mba uncertain as Eagles step up training

Sunday Mba

Super Eagles ‘B’ team will step up their training from Monday officials of the team have said in Abuja. They are now to train twice daily as the battle for the final squad to the 2014 CHAN hits the peak.

The pressure for final places in the team going to South Africa suggest that old regulars like Chigozie Agbim, Sunday Mba, Solomon Kwambe, Gambo Mohammed, Benjamin Francis and Azubuike Egwuekwe are not sure of shirts. Coach Stephen Keshi has made it clear that only the fittest and the best as proved in training will be picked for the tournament.

The players trained once a day last week, but Keshi said there was little time left to prune down the present squad from 30 players to 23, which has created the need to intensify training and get the best out of the players in camp.

It’s expected that by the end of the week the team would have been pruned down in preparation for departure to South Africa in the first week of January.

The team have also shifted their training site from the FIFA Goal Project arena to the training pitch of the Abuja National Stadium, to get used to natural turf which organisers of CHAN 2014 will use for the tournament.

As the players train in Abuja, Nigeria striker Emmanuel Emenike has outlined his ambition to achieve success at club and international level in 2014. Emenike was joint-top scorer when Nigeria won the Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa in February and scored three goals as they sealed a place at next year’s World Cup in Brazil.

At club level, he scored his sixth goal of the season in Fenerbahce’s 4-0 thrashing of Akhisar Belediyespor on Friday.

And Emenike believes if he is to prove he is one of the best strikers in Africa he has to show it at the World Cup in Brazil.

“Next year will be a big one for the Super Eagles because the World Cup is football’s biggest stage,” Emenike told BBC Sport.

“Brazil is that place where I hope to make my mark and prove myself as a striker that can perform at major tournaments.

“I will be doing everything for the team as usual. I am confident as a team Nigeria will be stronger in Brazil.

Emenike is also determined to shine at club level in Turkey.

“With Fenerbahce there’s confidence in the squad. We think we can do something good this season by winning the Turkish League title.

“We are top of the league, we lead the team in second by eleven points but we are in December and can’t relax.”

Nigeria have been drawn in Group F at the 2014 World Cup alongside Argentina, just as they were in 2010.

The Eagles will face Iran before taking on Bosnia-Herzegovina and will finish against Argentina in a bid to reach the last 16, which they achieved in both 1994 and 1998.

“Every player is looking to the World Cup. I think we’ve got every chance of doing better than our previous outings,” he said.