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Vanguard, FRIDAY, JANUARY 18, 2013
Okoku banks on Mikel, Musa, Moses for glory BY JOHN EGBOKHAN
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•Moses
X-INTERNATIONAL, Paul Okoku has said that the trio of Jon Obi Mikel, Ahmed Musa and Victor Moses were going to play crucial roles in Nigeria’s quest for glory at the Africa Cup of Nations, rolling off tomorrow at Soccer City. Nigeria are paired in Group B alongside Burkina Faso, Zambia and Ethiopia in what observers see as an easy group for the Eagles to progress to the knockout stage of the 16-nation tournament. And speaking in an interview with Sports Vanguard, Okoku, maintained that the Eagles have the potentials to go very far in the tournament if Mikel, Musa and Moses are made the arrowheads of the team’s attacking play. “I believe that the Eagles under the leadership of Stephen Keshi can fly
high at the Nations Cup in South Africa. We have the players to certainly get out of our group but more importantly, I feel that for us to go very far, we have to make use of some players, who are match-winners on their day. “Mikel is one of the players who would play a very key role in our desire for success in South Africa. Keshi needs to give him additional roles, so that he can be more responsible to the team that he is presently doing. “If Mikel gets into his strides, Nigeria will go places. Ahmed Musa and Victor Moses, I maintain, are also going to play key functions for the Eagles in the Cup of Nations. Both a young, bursting with energy and can certainly score the goals if the services are provided. Then you cannot write off Ikechukwu Uche, who is always a reliable guy for the goals”, added Okoku
Bafana under pressure — Cape Verde
•Musa
Drogba plays down favourites tag
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TACKLE......South Africa’s Bernard Parker (L) flies over Algeria’s Rafik Halliche during a friendly match in Soweto. It ended goalless.
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APE Verde coach Lucio Antunes says that his team are under no pressure to perform compared to South Africa who is hosting the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations. “The pressure will be on South Africa,” Antunes said. “We are here, we are happy to be here. There is no pressure to play good football. We qualified for this tournament; that is a big deal for our country. “It’s totally different for Bafana Bafana because of they are the hosting counC M Y K
try and the fans will put pressure on them. They are a big team, there are expectations on them. “We have worked very hard to be here. We don’t have any top players in our team, we play as a team. We work hard; the players are determined to write history. “My advice to them is to keep working like that because when you succeed for the first time the people will be waiting for more success, but honestly success only comes from hard work.”
IDIER Drogba warned his Ivory Coast team-mates about their billing as African Nations Cup favourites when he said top sides do not always live up to
expectation. “I must remind you that Netherlands had a side everyone said was the best for years and they never won a trophy,” said Drogba, sitting alongside
Ghana touch down in Port Elizabeth
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HANA h a v e checked in at the Garden Court Kings Hotel in Port Elizabeth for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations. The Black Stars landed in Johannesburg yesterday night and moved to their tournament base today (Thursday). Ghana flew in from Abu Dhabi where they spent 11 days to prepare for the tournament which officially kick-starts on Sat-
urday. The four-time African champions are among the last batch of teams to arrive for the continental showpiece. The Black Stars will play DR Congo in their Group B opener on 20 January at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. There are matches against Mali on 24 Janaury and Niger four days later at the same venue.
•Gyan
Yaya Toure and coach Sabri Lamouchi during a rousing airport welcome in South Africa They are top seeds in Group D and play Togo in their opening match on Tuesday and captain Drogba, in probably his last appearance at the tournament, said his nation’s time would come. “We will win it one day, maybe with or without me,” said the 34-year-old striker. “But even if I don’t win it, I’ll still be part of the team because I have helped to build it over the last 10 years. If not me, or Yaya, then perhaps (Abdul) Razak (of Manchester City), who is the youngest member of the squad.”