Eagles to play Luxemburg and Mali in Europe on June 27 and May 1 during next Fifa window

NIGERIA'S Super Eagles will play two friendly games against Mali and Luxemburg in Europe during the next Fifa window between May 27 and June 1 as part of the ongoing rebuilding programme at preparing the team for the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.

 

Having failed to qualify for the 2017 African Cup of Nations, the Nigerian Football federation (NFF) has now focused its attention on getting the Eagles ready for the World Cup coming up in Russia in two years time. Due to Nigeria missing two successive Nations Cups, the Eagles have fallen down the Fifa rankings to an all time low of 67 and the NFF hope that winning friendlies will boost things a bit.

 

Under plans being drawn up, the Eagles will take on Mali, ranked four places above them at the Stade Robert Diochon in Rouen, France on Friday May 27. Then on June 1, the team will travel to nearby Luxemburg to take on the tiny European nation ranked 145th in the world.

 

Mali has already qualified for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations finals, having garnered 10 points from their first four matches of the qualification series, in a Group C that also has Equatorial Guinea, Benin Republic and South Sudan. NFF match agent Jairo Pachon confirmed that the Super Eagles would play Luxembourg on Wednesday, June 1 at a venue to be finalised in a few days time.

 

It is likely that both games will be handled by the NFF's technical director of Amodu Shaibu after the federation's technical sub-committee recommended that he be put in charge of the team for the matches. At a meeting yesterday, the technical sub-committee proposed to the NFF's executive committee that Amodu should head a coaching crew made up of Salisu Ibrahim, Alloy Agu, Imama Amakapabo and Kennedy Boboye for both games.

 

According to the technical sub-committee, they went for Amakapabo and Boboye, two league coaches, to expose them to the rudiments of the game with those two matches. While Amakapabo coaches Rangers FC, Boboye is at the helm of affairs at Abia Warriors and Agu would remain the goalkeeper trainer.

 

One technical sub-committee member said: “Part of the recommendations we gave to the executive committee of the federation is that Amodu will supervise the technical crew to be headed by the Salisu. We also recommended the drafting of two league coaches into the crew and we went for Rangers and Abia Warriors chief coaches, just as we settled for Agu as the goalkeeper trainer.

 

“We went for the two league coaches to expose them with those two matches. I know that Nigerians will ask why Siasia and Amunike did not continue with the team but we all know that they are very much engaged and committed with their teams."

 

He added that their plans and expectations will be to provide every help to Siasia to win the Olympic Games gold medal. However, according to the member, Amodu's appointment will be for the two friendly matches, after which they will continue with the hiring of a substantive coach for the team.