Eagles land in U.S.A

Scores of Nigerians resident
in Dallas, capital of the State
of Texas were at the Double
Tree Hotel on Thursday
morning to receive players
and officials of the Nigeria
national football team, Super
Eagles as the delegation
landed in the United States of
America.
The team of 20 players and
nine officials was led by a
Member of the Executive
Committee of the Nigeria
Football Federation,
Barrister Olaleye Adepoju,
and will play two matches in
the invitational United States'
President's Holiday
Celebration Soccer
Tournament, otherwise
known as the Green Bowl
Soccer Tournament, holding
at the Cotton Bowl Soccer
Stadium this weekend.
The Delta Airline flight from
Lagos had a few hours'
stop-over in Atlanta, Georgia
before connecting the Texas
State capital.
The Super Eagles, with Head
Coach Samson Siasia
directing affairs, will take to
the pitch against their
Mexican counterparts at the
Cotton Bowl on Saturday at
7pm (1am, Sunday in Nigeria)
and the result will determine
whether they play the
Losers' Final or Final Match
on Sunday at the same
venue.
Costa Rica and Panama would
play the first game of the two
double-headers on Saturday
at 4.30pm (10.30pm, Saturday
in Nigeria). The Losers' Final
holds from 4.30pm Sunday
(10.30pm, Sunday in Nigeria)
with the Final starting at 7pm
Sunday (1am, Monday in
Nigeria).
Coach Samson Siasia has
expressed delight at the
eventual staging of the
tournament, which had to be
whittled down from eight-
nation to fur-nation, saying
it would help his team re-
building and re-tooling ahead
of the 2012 African Nations
Cup qualifier against Ethiopia
on March 27