SUPER Eagles’ head coach, Stephen Keshi has told his players to stop thinking of the success achieved at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations and concentrate on the upcoming game against Kenya.Nigeria defeated Burkina Faso last month to win the Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa but Keshi told the players in camp that this will count for nothing if the country fails to qualify for the 2014 World Cup.‘’We are African champions but the game we have against Kenya will determine our passion to sustain that standard and qualify for the big one, the World Cup. So I want you to forget about the triumph at the Nations Cup and strive to beat the Harambee Stars of Kenya come March 23 in Calabar.’’Meanwhile, Nigeria have replaced injured Kano Pillars defender Umar Zango, who failed to train with the rest of the squad in Abuja Tuesday morning.First Bank of Lagos central defender Festus Ajah has been called up in place of Zango.Ajah is said to have impressed national team scouts in some of his club’s games and now has an opportunity to make an impression at the national team level.Besides the injured Pillars star, the other 23 invited players from the domestic league opened training Tuesday morning at the practice pitch of the Abuja National Stadium in preparation for the match against the Harambee Stars of Kenya. ...23 train for KenyaThe Super Eagles on Tuesday morning got down to business with the first training session ahead of the March 23, 2013 World Cup qualifier against the Harambee Stars of Kenya.Twenty three players took part in the maiden session under the watchful eyes of the technical crew led by Coach Stephen Keshi.Ben Alaiya, the Media Officer to the Eagles in a chat with futaa.com confirmed that things were already looking up in the Abuja camp of the Eagles as battle for shirts effectively begins.‘’Twenty three players took part in the first session on Tuesday morning and things are looking good already, the Eagles spokesperson said.The Super Eagles resumed camping in Abuja on Sunday evening for the first time after winning the Afcon trophy in South Africa in February.The World Cup qualifying match against Kenya’s Harambee Stars is billed to take place at the UJ Esuene Stadium in Calabar in a fortnight. CAF writes Nigeria on fixture changesNigeria’s U-20 national team as well as the U-17 team have been officially notified by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) that it has made slight adjustments to the African Youth Champions (CAN U-20) as well as the CAN U-17 tournaments billed for Algeria and Morocco respectively.Nigeria is billed to participate in the AYC that kicks off in Algeria from 16 – 30 March 2013 as well as the U-17 tourney that kicks off in Morocco from 13-27 April 2013. The changes affect the semi-finals of both events.“Two important decisions were reached concerning the upcoming CAN U-20; the semi-finals will be held on the same day, at the same time (17:00) in Algeria at Oran and Ain Temouchent Stadiums respectively,” said a statement from CAFFor the CAN U17, a similar decision was reached; the first semi-final was moved to April 23 and the second semi-final to April 24.Initially designated for Casablanca, the final and third place matches will now both take place in Marrakech on March 27.CAN U-20 will be contested by eight nations; Algeria, Benin, Ghana and Egypt in Group A while Nigeria, Mali, Gabon and DR Congo compete in Group B.Also CAN U-17 tournament will by Morocco, Gabon, Tunisia, and Botswana in Group A while Congo, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Ghana compete in Group B.
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