Nigeria will play Sudan in Abuja on October 15 after Super Eagles Head Coach, Stephen Keshi, rated the National Stadium highly at the end of an inspection tour he undertook yesterday. Keshi said the National Stadium was better than ever after he inspected the pitch and the dressing room. He was accompanied on the inspection tour by Sports Minister, Tammy Danagogo, and the Director of Facilities, National Sports Commission (NSC). The Eagles will attempt to revamp their bid to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations next year in Morocco, after a shaky start in the qualifying campaign where they could only garner a point in two matches. Nigeria will meet Sudan over two legs next month and will host the north-Africans at the nation’s capital after first paying a visit to Omdurman on October 11. It is now clear altogether Nigeria is prepared to dump Calabar where they played all their home matches during the qualifying campaign to Brazil 2014. Keshi admitted that the National Stadium was in a better condition than the U. J. Esuene Stadium which looked bumpy and was partly blamed as a reason why Nigeria relapsed to a 3-2 loss to Congo on September 6. The list of invited players for the Super Eagles double header against the Sudanese is expected to be released before the end of the week. But after gauging his mood, it is clear that Keshi is not prepared to wean Manchester City’s talented youngster, Kelechi Iheanacho, for international baptism. Iheanacho was one of the standout performers at the last FIFA U-17 World Cup which Nigeria won in November last year after beating Mexico 3-0 in the United Arab Emirates. Keshi pleaded for caution and warned against rushing the player, who is on loan at Colombus Crew the MLS in United States, for national duty. While conceding that Iheanacho is a gifted player, Keshi said the teenager lacked the maturity and experience to play full flight international football. “At this moment, we should not rush Iheanacho into playing for the national team. He is a good player, but he is lacking the experience required at that level. We need to integrate him gradually as we did with Dele Alampasu and Taiwo Awoniyi, who were invited to camp during our preparation for the African Nations Championship (CHAN) in South Africa last year,” Keshi said. He also disclosed he would not formalize a new contract as the national coach, until the new NFF Executive Committee is reconstituted at the Glasshouse after the board election that holds on September 30. Keshi said he would handle the two matches against Sudan as the ‘caretaker coach’ until he finalizes a new deal with the new board. He agreed to handle the Eagles for the fixtures against Congo and South Africa on a part-time basis after Danagogo brokered a deal with him by agreeing to pay his bills for those engagements.
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