SUPER Eagles head coach Stephen Keshi has played down his side’s chances of winning the 2014 African Nations Championship.

The tournament, which is open only to those who ply their trade in Africa, kicks off on January 11 where the Super Eagles will play Mali in a Group A clash in Cape Town.

But Keshi, who lead the country to their 2013 AFCON title, does not expect Nigeria to win the tournament following the departure of several key local based players to European clubs.

Juwon Oshaniwa, Gomo Onduku, Godfrey Oboabona and Sunday Mba are all now ineligible for the tournament following their movement to foreign clubs in the off-season.

“If we (Nigerians) are to be fair in our reasoning and expectations for the CHAN, it would be a huge task expecting us to go to South Africa and win the title,” Keshi told SuperSport.

“We are going there with a positive mindset and the belief that anything is possible.

“We can still go there and win the title. This team is not going to South Africa to make up the number.

“The reality however, is that almost all the players who helped us qualify for this championship have left for European clubs.

“We have been struggling to assemble something close to a team but we will definitely give it our best shot.”

-Vanguard

Posted by admin on Jan 2 2014. Filed under Headlines, Soccer, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry