Tahiti share Group B with Nigeria, Uruguay and Spain and oceaniafootball.com is pleased to be bringing you a rundown of the three teams Tahiti will face at the tournament, with the focus today on their opening opponent, Nigeria.
Nigeria were crowned African champions after winning the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year with a 1-0 victory over Burkina Faso in final. Nigeria lifted the continental trophy for the third time following successes in 1980 and 1994.
The team is coached by former international defender Stephen Keshi who managed Togo and Mali before returning to home soil in 2011. He is one of a rare breed of coaches who have won the Africa Cup of Nations as both a player and a coach.
“I’m an optimistic person. I rarely think about negativity,” Keshi said. “Even when it goes bad, I still think it’s good. There must always be a lesson to add to my future to make it better.”
After their last appearance at the FIFA Confederations Cup 18 years ago, the Super Eagles are back in the competition with the aim of representing their country in a positive way and putting forward a strong challenge for the title.
‘’We will do our best there to present a good image of African football,’’ Keshi told cafonline.com.
Nigeria’s star midfielder John Obi Mikel is optimistic about the players’ motivation and the team’s chances during the tournament.
‘’There are many strong countries involved. It will not be easy. We will not say we are favourites, but we will do our best, give 100 per cent as we always do’’ the Chelsea player told TV Globo’s website.
‘’If we go with the same performance we had at the African Cup, I think we have a good chance of reaching at least the semi-finals’’ Mikel said.
Their fourth place in their last FIFA Confederations Cup in 1995 and their overall international experience make Nigeria a strong challenger of Group B.
Nigeria are not novices at the international level as they have a history ofsuccess at the youth level where they have won three FIFA U-17 World Cups in 1985, 1993 and 2006 and finished Gold medallists at the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996.
In addition, Nigeria has qualified for four FIFA World Cups and they are still in the running to qualify for the FIFA World Cup in Brazil next year. They remain unbeaten since May 2012 when they experienced a 1-0 loss against Peru.
Nigeria will play their opening game against Tahiti on Monday, 17 June, 4pm (local time) followed by Uruguay on Thursday, 20 June and Spain on Sunday, 23 June.
Nigeria squad:
Goalkeepers:
Chigozie Agbim (Enugu Rangers)
Austin Ejide (Hapoel Beer Sheva)
Vincent Enyeama (Maccabi Tel Aviv)
Defenders:
Efe Ambrose (Celtic)
Francis Benjamin (Heartland FC)
Elderson Echiejile (Sporting Braga)
Azubuike Egwuekwe (Warri Wolves)
Solomon Kwambe (Sunshine Stars)
Godfrey Oboabona (Sunshine Stars)
Kenneth Omeruo (ADO Den Haag)
Midfielders:
Emeka Eze (Enugu Rangers)
John Obi Mikel (Chelsea)
Fegor Ogude (Valerenga)
John Ogu (Academica Coimbra)
Ogenyi Onazi (Lazio)
Sunday Mba (Enugu Rangers)
Forwards:
Joseph Akpala (Werder Bremen)
Michael Babatunde (FC Kryvbas)
Muhammad Gambo (Kano Pillars)
Brown Ideye (Dynamo Kiev)
Ahmed Musa (CSKA Moscow)
Nnamdi Oduamadi (Varese)
Anthony Ujah (FC Cologne)
For more on the world game go to www.fifa.com

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