Emmanuel Emenike, who plays for Fernabahce in Turkey and Lazio of Italy’s Ogenyi Onazi, were the last two players to make it to the Transcorp hotel camp of the national team on Wednesday to the relief of Head Coach Stephen Keshi and his crew.
As preparation heightens for the final round, second leg qualifier against Ethiopia on Saturday in Calabar, Keshi said he was initially angry at the late arrival of the players but reasoned that it was not their making as connecting flights from Lagos to Calabar and Abuja to Calabar was a bit of a problem to the players.
“I am relieved now that all the players are here and we can start serious preparation for the game against Ethiopia, which is still a threat because they are a very good side and have been together for up to five years unlike our team which is relatively young and new”, he said at the media interractive session in Calabar on Wednesday.
He again reiterated the fact that the game against Ethiopia will be played as if there was never a first leg encounter. “We have not qualified but on the verge of doing so and we must not let down our guards at this crucial moment”. When asked whether Nigeria can win the World Cup in Brazil, looking beyond Ethiopia, he said it was a possibility. “Nothing is impossible in football and we can win in Brazil but the immediate task at hand is to qualify first for the World Cup”.
Team skipper, Vincent Enyeama, who also spoke at the fora said he was still pained at the goal the Ethiopians scored against him in Addis Ababa. “That goal never crossed the line, because I knew where I stood to catch that ball, even the one that Godfrey Oboabona cleared out also did not cross the line as some people were insinuating and the referee got that right but got the other one wrong”.
