adminof Nations here yesterday.
Keshi was left purring after forward Sunday Mba scored a stunning winner 12 minutes from time to seal an exhilarating quarter-final at the Royal Bafokeng stadium.
Mba who plays for local Nigerian club side Rangers International, who are based in Enugu, slalomed his way past a number of Elephants defenders before unleashing a rising shot that also took a deflection off a Cote d’Ivoire defender as it beat the Ivorians goalkeeper Barry Copa.
In a quarter-final that was laced with high-profile stars from both sides such as ageing Cote d’Ivoire skipper Didier Drogba, reigning African Footballer of the Year Yaya YayaToure of Manchester City , Arsenal’s Gervinho and his own teammates, Victor Moses and Obi Mikel, few would have expected the likes of Mba to steal the show.
But the forward justified the faith shown by his coach in not only him but fellow Super Eagles players currently plying their trade in their domestic league ahead of such players like Peter Odemwinje with fine show.
Odemwinje was even overlooked for this tournament.
Apart from Mba, the Super Eagles squad that is in South African for the continental soccer showpiece also have Emmanuel Egwuekwe, Shalu Gabriel, Itama Oboabona, Ejike Uzoenyi and reserve goalkeeper Chigozie Agbim playing in their domestic league. Zimbabwe’s Warriors who are absent from this tournament, having failed to qualify are one of a host of African countries that always have problems choosing between homegrown talent and those playing in foreign lands.
But Keshi who has also even criticised the hiring of foreign coaches by African associations strongly believes that paying abroad is not a ticket for selection into the national team.
A beaming Keshi felt vindicated after the match to note that his homegrown stars had been punching their weight to help Nigeria advance into the semi-finals.
The Super Eagles, underdogs at the start of yesterday’s match, dubbed the final before the final, are now also favourites to overcome Mali and reach the February 10 final at Soccer city in Johannesburg.
“I want to thank God, I want to thank my players, the Nigerians who prayed for this team and even the media who believed that the team could go this far.
“It was not an easy game . . . before this game nobody gave us a chance and those that did, gave us a 20 percent chance but these boys showed character, the kind of character I saw during my playing days.
“It is not about individuals but, it is teamwork but I am so proud of Mba, I will give him a big kiss on the cheek. It is good that if you give home-based players a chance they can deliver,’’ Keshi said.
The former Super Eagles captain also acknowledged that he had to grapple with criticism from home with some doubting the pedigree of his squad.
“It’s a pity that in my country they don’t have patience in home-based players, they seem to believe in the professionals only but I have 120 percent confidence in my players and I believe they are equally talented,’’ Keshi said. The Super Eagles coach also attributed their crucial win to greater determination and focus and revealed they had spent days closely analyzing the styles of some of Cote d’Ivoire’s stars like Drogba, Yaya Toure and Gervinho with a view to finding a way to hut them out.
“The concentration levels that we have and the boys that are in camp are the right boys that I picked from the country and I am just proud of them. I never stopped believing in them and I think we can keep going far,’’ Keshi said. Keshi also said they had shown their character by lifting their game instead of dropping their heads when the Ivorians cancelled out Chinenye Emenike’s blistering opener off a free-kick that whistled past Barry.
His captain and goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama was also enjoying a personal milestone as he led from the back.
Nigeria are still to lose a Nations Cup quarter-final match in which the veteran goalkeeper has kept goal.
But Enyeama remained modest about his proud record insisting he hardly focused on statistics.
“I don’t really care about statistics, I don’t’ believe I am special because his is all about the team and I would like to thank God the Almighty for guiding us today, I am just proud of my team and now we can look forward to the next game,’’ Enyeama said.
The Super Eagles will now head off to Durban to face Mali who overcame hosts South Africa in Saturday’s second quarter-final tie at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.
Online Reporter