SUPER Eagles head coach Stephen Keshi has continued to receive encomiums for taking the bull by the horns to field home based players in the team's 2014 World Cup and 2013 Nations Cup qualifers.Latest to join the roll call of those who have hailed the ex Super Eagles skipper was Glasgow Rangers player, Sone Aluko who saluted him for being bold enough to pick players from Nigeria Premier League.''The coach has been brave with his selections, playing players from the local league with pros from overseas,' said Aluko, who won his second cap as a late substitute against Rwanda Saturday.''And so far this new team have done well ' two wins at a home and a draw away.''Like it has been in the Eagles three straight games this month, Keshi again started five players from the NPL against Rwanda in a must-win Africa Cup of Nations qualifier last Saturday.Aluko will back the Eagles to fly all the way to next year's Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa.''We are confident that we will qualify for the Nations Cup,'' the winger said.Dazzling left winger Ejike Uzoenyi further told MTNFootball.com that both the players from the NPL and their overseas colleagues have got along very well.''The relationship between the home-based players and the professionals has been fantastic,' said Uzoenyi, who was supported at the Rwanda game by several top management staff of his club.''We all know that we have to continue to work hard to stay in the team. It's either to get it right or you walk away.''Meanwhile,SUPER Eagles assistant coach, Ike Shorunmu has showered praises on the players for their performance against Malawi and Rwanda.The former Shooting Stars safehand said the players needed to be commended for their performance in the 2014 World Cup and 2013 Nations Cup qualifiers which they earned the maximum points."The performance of the team is commendable. With what they have achieved with the victories over Malawi and Rwanda, I can say authoritatively that there is room for improvement," he said."We give God the glory for the victories and I can assure you that the team would be in South Africa for the Nations Cup and Brazil for the World Cup in 2014," he said.Super Eagles are presently topping the table in the World Cup African qualified Group F and have for the next stage of the Nations Cup qualifier.Meanwhile,TOMTOM, the official candy of the Nigerian national teams, has continued to demonstrate strong commitment towards motivating the various national teams to achieve results that bring soothing relief to Nigerians.To ensure Nigeria got through to the next round of the 2013 African Cup of Nations, the True Fan of the national teams sponsored secondary school students and their teachers from selected schools in Calabar to cheer the Super Eagles to victory in their match against the Amavubi of Rwanda on Saturday at the UJ Esuene Stadium.The students, donning the colours of the brand, sang and cheered the Nigerian team from the beginning to the end of the match. Their support paid off as goals from each half by Ikechukwu Uche and Ahmed Musa obliterated the morale of the Rwandans and ensured victory for Nigeria.In addition to sponsoring the students and teachers to support the Super Eagles at the stadium, TomTom also offered $5000 to the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the match in its tradition of stimulating members of the national teams to put in their best to win their games.Gabriel Reuben, a home-based Super Eagle who plays for Kano Pillars, won the Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) and was presented with his prize shortly after the match by the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Dikko Abubakar.Dele Anifowoshe, Marketing Director, Cadbury Nigeria Plc, expressed delight that the Super Eagles defeated the Rwandans and are through to the next round of the Nations Cup qualifying games.'The Eagles have shown great determination in regaining their glory going by their performance so far which has continued to improve. The victory over the Rwandans is an important one as it has seen them progressing to the next round of the qualifying matches. This is commendable,' Anifowoshe said.He urged the players not to rest on their oars until they deliver the ticket to the country. He assured them that TomTom, which has been at the forefront of providing support for the various Nigerian teams through different initiatives, would stand by them all the way through.
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