"They made a good impression on me". Arsene Wenger backs Nigeria to qualify for second stage.

63 year-old Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger believes Nigeria would qualify for the second stage of the of the 2014 Fifa World Cup in Brazil. Nigeria according to the Frenchman has a good team spirit and even made a good impression on him during the last. AFCON tournament.

“I don’t know about second place. I think that Nigeria might qualify for the second stage. They really made a good impression on me during the African Cup of Nations. They seem to have a really good team spirit, which is not always easy for African teams. They have less star players. They have a real team, and it’s been a while since that happened for them.” He stated.

"Ivory Coast will always let you down, Nigeria will go furthest"- Emmanuel Adebayor offers insight into African teams ahead of Brazil 2014

Togolese international, Emmanuel Adebayor has offered an insight into some of the African teams who will represent their countries at the 2014 World Cup. Speaking to Daily Express, the former Manchester City player started with Ivory Coast which boasts of fantastic players like Didier Drogba and Yaya Toure, but his analysis of the team was a bit harsh.
“I never trust them. They are the country that will always let you down. I know all of them from the bench to the manager. Sabri Lamouchi their coach is my very good friend. How come for the last four or five years have they not won the African Cup of Nations? They have got the best striker in Europe in Didier Drogba. They have got the best midfielder today, Yaya Toure. You’ve got one of the best strikers in the league today, the one that plays at Swansea, Wilfried Bony. You have all of those players.
“But the thing is, are they going to be collective enough? I don’t know. I am not an Ivorian. They will be talking, laughing and enjoying themselves but when the time comes, they will forget about their job. There’s no togetherness. Everyone wants to be the hero. Everybody wants to be the one to finish on a high so the folks remember them for what I have done, not for what we have done as a generation, nor for what we have done as team. Everyone wants to be like a hero and that is what is killing Ivory Coast.”

The 30 year-old however spoke highly of the Nigeria squad: “Out of these teams, my choice for which of the African teams will go the furthest would be Nigeria because of their concentration. Because of Stephen Keshi the coach, he knows a lot about football and everything. He has been there as well as a player for Nigeria. And they have got Victor Moses, who is a great friend of mine, and I like the way he plays. Jon Obi Mikel played a lot for Chelsea this year and showed how good he is. Their goalkeeper is very good. Nigeria have all the ingredients to be good in the World Cup.”
The Tottenham forward has also backed the Ghanaian team to do well in the tournament. “Ghana have a good team. I hope they do well but they have done everything that is possible. Asamoah Gyan is a great player and great friend of mine but he is now playing in Dubai. He is still their main man. If he is not in form or if he does not match the level of the World Cup, then Ghana will struggle.
Indeed they will. In fact, during my time as a player, I got to know many of those who will be taking part in the World Cup for their respective African nations. Experienced players like Michael Essien and Sulley Muntari will need to be at their best to help Ghana.” He concluded.

FIXTURES FOR THE 2013 AFRICAN CUP OF NATIONS (AFCON)

The 2013 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) will kick off in 2 days time.

To be hosted by South Africa, the winner of the tournament will qualify for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil. The fixtures are below. Goodluck to Nigeria and other countries.

1) Saturday 19 January 2013

South Africa Vs Cape Verde Islands (18:00)

Angola Vs Morocco (21:00)

2) Sunday 20 January 2013

Ghana Vs Congo DR (17:00)

Mali Vs Niger (20:00)

3) Monday 21 January 2013

Zambia Vs Ethiopia (17:00)

Nigeria Vs Burkina Faso (20:00)

4) Tuesday 22 January 2013

Ivory Coast Vs Togo (17:00)

Tunisia Vs Algeria (20:00)

5) Wednesday 23 January 2013

South Africa Vs Angola (17:00)

Morocco Vs Cape Verde Islands. (20:00)

6) Thursday 24 January 2013

Ghana Vs Mali (17:00)

Niger Vs Congo DR (20:00)

7) Friday 25 January 2013

Zambia Vs Nigeria (17:00)

Burkina Faso Vs Ethiopia (20:00)

8) Saturday 26 January 2013

Ivory Coast Vs Tunisia (17:00)

Algeria Vs Togo (20:00)

9) Sunday 27 January 2013

Morocco Vs South Africa (19:00)

Cape Verde Islands Vs Angola (19:00)

10) Monday 28 January 2013

Congo DR Vs. Mali (19:00)

Niger Vs Ghana (19:00)

11) Tuesday 29 January 2013

Ethiopia Vs Nigeria (19:00)

Burkina Faso Vs Zambia (19:00)

12) Wednesday 30 January 2013

Algeria Vs Ivory Coast (19:00)

Togo Vs Tunisia (19:00)

13) Saturday 02 February 2013

Winner Group B Vs Runnerup Gp A (17:00)

Winner Group A Vs Runnerup Gp B (20:30)

14) Sunday 03 February 2013

Winner Group D Vs Runnerup Gp C (17:00)

Winner Group C Vs Runnerup Gp D (20:30)

15) Wednesday 06 February 2013

Winner Q/F 3 Vs Winner Q/F 2 (17:00)

Winner Q/F 1 Vs Winner Q/F 4 (20:30)

16) Saturday 09 February 2013

Loser SF1 Vs Loser SF2 (20:00)

17) Sunday 10 February 2013

Winner SF1Vs Winner SF2 (20:00)

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