Lars Lagerback names Victor Anichebe and John Utaka in Nigeria squad

New Nigeria coach Lars Lagerback named Everton striker Victor Anichebe and Portsmouth forward John Utaka in his provisional 30-man World Cup squad on Monday.

Lagerback recalled the England-based pair in his first squad since taking over from the sacked Amodu Shaibu earlier this year.

Anichebe returned to action with Everton in the Premier League at the beginning of May, while Utaka was recalled by Lagerback after missing out on selection for the 2010 African Cup of Nations.

The Swedish coach also picked Anichebe's Everton teammates Joseph Yobo, who has recently recovered from injury, and striker Yakubu Ayegbeni.

Veteran Nwankwo Kanu, who made his international debut in 1994 and captained Nigeria to gold at the 1996 Olympics, has been included in the provisional squad, which will be trimmed down to 23 players for the World cup.

Lagerback said Monday he was not under any pressure from the Nigerian Football Federation to choose particular players.

"Individual skills and fitness levels were considered when picking the players," Lagerback said, "so it does not matter if a player is 20 or 35 years old."

Promising midfielder Lukman Haruna of French club Monaco was also selected. Haruna, who turned 20 last month, led Nigeria's under-17 team to World Cup victory in 2007. He made Nigeria's initial African Cup squad in January but was dropped from the final roster for the tournament.

Utaka's younger brother Peter, who plays in Denmark for Odense, was also part of the squad alongside Wolfsburg striker Obafemi Martins and Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel.

Mikel missed the last part of the Premier League season with a knee problem but is expected to return to full fitness at the end of May, in time for Nigeria's pre-World Cup training camp in England. Nigeria has planned friendly matches against Saudi Arabia in Austria on May 25 and Colombia in London on May 30.

The team then completes its preparations against North Korea in South Africa on June 4. Lagerback has also given chances to two local players in his 30-man group. Goalkeeper Akpan Bassey and defender Peter Suswan are the only two members of the squad who play their club football in Nigeria.

Nigeria will play Argentina, South Korea and Greece in Group B. Lagerback resigned as Sweden coach after failing to qualify for South Africa and took charge of the Super Eagles in February after they finished third at the African Cup, which led to the departure of Shaibu.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Vincent Enyeama (Hapoel Tel Aviv), Dele Ayenugba (Beni Yehuda FC), Bassey Akpan (Bayelsa United), Austine Ejide (Hapoel Petah Tikva)

Defenders: Taye Taiwo (Marseille), Elderson Echiejile (Rennes), Chidi Odiah (CSKA Moscow) Onyekachi Apam (Nice), Joseph Yobo (Everton), Daniel Shittu (Bolton), Ayodele Adeleye (Sparta Rotterdam), Rabiu Afolabi (Salzburg), Peter Suswan (Lobi Stars)

Midfielders: Kalu Uche (Almeria), Dickson Etuhu (Fulham), John Obi Mikel (Chelsea), Sani Kaita (Alaniya), Lukman Haruna (Monaco), Ayila Yussuf (Dynamo Kyiv), Peter Osaze (Lokomotiv Moscow)

Forwards: Yakubu Ayegbeni (Everton), Victor Anichebe (Everton), Chinedu Obasi (Hoffenheim), Nwankwo Kanu (Portsmouth), Obafemi Martins (Wolfsburg), Ideye Brown (Sochaux), Ikechukwu Uche (Zaragoza), John Utaka (Portsmouth), Peter Utaka (Odense), Victor Obinna (Malaga).

Source: AP

Africa Cup of Nations semifinals preview: Balanced Ties Expected

North African archrivals Algeria and Egypt play for a place in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations Thursday with six-time champions Egypt going all out not just to win a place that could put them nearer to a seventh title, but also avenge their defeat at the hands of Algeria last November that deprived them of a World Cup place next summer in South Africa. Algeria will be all out to prove that their decisive play-off win in Sudan was no fluke.

In the other semi-final Ghana meet Nigeria, but most eyes will be focussed on the North Africans’ clash. So much so that despite it being such an important clash, its significance has been played down and it seems that outside of Nigeria and Ghana, few people are giving the victors of this clash any chance in the final on Sunday.

There is an intense rivalry between the two African/Arab nations, which was reignited during their controversial pair of World Cup qualifiers in November.

Algeria suffered the humiliation of getting soundly beaten (3-0) by Malawi in their opening match. However, they bounced back by beating Mali and then got the draw they needed in their final group stage game against hosts Angola. After that they found their rhythm and outplayed pre-tournament favourites Ivory Coast in their quarter-final

They were most impressive in the last eight match as they managed to show the fighting spirit that fuelled their heroic World Cup qualifying campaign, and also their brand of highly technical football.

Egypt have been the most impressive team at this tournament thus far. But as they vie to become the first team to lift the Africa Cup of Nations trophy three times in succession, now find a familiar foe in their path.

The World Cup qualifiers between the two generated not only interest but also created problems, diplomatic as well as sporting. Hopefully, this time the two sides wont’ let their emotions get the better of them and make a concerted effort to remain concentrated on winning the game instead of focusing on who they are playing against.

In the meantime, Algeria hope that both goalkeeper Faouzi Chaouchi and Karim Ziani are fit to face the Egyptians. Ziani missed a day’s training to have a thigh injury inspected, while Chaouchi also missed a session in order to completely recover from the back problems he suffered against Ivory Coast.

While Egypt have reported a clean bill of health, a lot of importance is being attached to two players in particular, Algeria’s Karim Ziani whose contribution both in the match against Ivory Coast and the World Cup preliminary round play-off against Egypt two months ago cannot be overlooked, and Egypt’s Ahmed Hassan who celebrated his 170th appearance in an international shirt in style against Cameroon.

Ghana – Nigeria preview

An even more balanced tie could be the semi-final clash between Ghana and Nigeria. It will be between a very experienced side, Nigeria, and a young but talented Ghana team that has managed to surmount its pre-tournament and current injury problems to their stars to find a place so close to a fifth title victory.

The odds may favour Nigeria, but Ghana are cautiously optimistic about their chances against their West African rivals.

Nigeria find themselves at this stage despite lack-lustre performances, notably in the quarter-final against Zambia whom they beat in a penalty shoot-out. However, it is also a fact that the Super Eagles’ performance cannot be judged based on their game against Zambia.

They have the players who are able to raise their game and it would be a mistake for anyone to conclude that they will have another bad match.

Ghana have been boosted by the news that midfielder Anthony Annan may have completely recovered from a thigh injury and would be in the team.

Source: The Tripoli Post