What: FIFA Confederations Cup – Group B
Who: Tahiti vs Nigeria
When: Monday June 17th, 2013, at 20:00 UK Time
Where: Estadio Mineirao, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Unchartered Waters for Tahiti
Only the third team from Oceania to play at the Confederations Cup, Tahiti made it to this competition by becoming shock winners of the Oceania Nations Cup in 2012 against New Caledonia, ending Australia and New Zealand’s 40-year stranglehold on the trophy. This tournament will be quite an experience for a squad of players who count just one professional among them – Marama Vahirua of Panthrakikos.
With a population of just 200,000, to say Tahiti are underdogs would be to understate things. A tiny volcano island thousands of miles from the nearest strip of land, the prospect for this group to play against continental champions like Nigeria, Uruguay and Spain is a unique opportunity. "Many people are surprised we actually play football on grass and not just on the beach for fun, but we do and we are improving at it", Henri Thierry Ariiotima, president of the Tahiti FA, said. Tahiti are dreaming of their meeting with the world champions Spain at the Maracana, one of the most romantic prospects in the fortnight ahead.
There is almost nothing to lose for Tahiti, as they will be expected to do nothing more than get roundly thrashed in each group game. They will take £1m from participation in the tournament, a huge boost to the coffers, and the risk is all with their opponents, who will not be expected just to win but to do so in style.
Nigeria Arrive in Brazil Amid Political Unrest
Nigeria very almost weren’t even in Brazil as a dispute between the players and the Nigerian Football Federation flared up after their World Cup qualifier with Namibia. The row was over bonuses owed to the players, which the federation cut, leading to the impasse which had to be resolved by sports minister Bolaji Abdullahi. Coach Stephen Keshi was presumably sympathetic to the players’ demands, having himself fallen out with the national federation earlier this year, tendering his resignation after the African Cup of Nations victory before going back on that decision.
Along with Denmark, Nigeria are one of the only two teams to have never lost a game in the Confederations Cup. It would be a disaster if they failed to continue that run in this opening game but they have struggled of late after their African Cup of Nations win earlier this year. Nigeria’s draw with Namibia leaves their hopes of qualifying to return to Brazil next year up in the air.
It is an inexperienced squad which made the trip to Brazil. There are nine changes in total from the squad which won the African Cup of Nations – five of them made their debut against Mexico in a recent friendly and four are uncapped. Victor Moses and Emmanuel Emenike are unavailable, whilst Peter Odemwingie, Obafemi Martins and Joseph Yobo were not considered. Keshi did a remarkable job in South Africa earlier this year to guide his team to success – it will take a lot more to even get to the last four in this competition.
Recent form
Tahiti:
New Zealand 3-0 Tahiti (16/10; World Cup qualifying)
Tahiti 2-0 Solomon Islands (22/03; World Cup qualifying)
New Caledonia 1-0 Tahiti (26/03; World Cup qualifying)
Nigeria:
Mexico 2-2 Nigeria (31/05; Friendly)
Kenya 0-1 Nigeria (05/06; World Cup qualifying)
Namibia 1-1 Nigeria (12/06; World Cup qualifying)
Key absences
Tahiti: Nicolas Vallar (doubt)
Nigeria: Ogenyi Onazi
Players to watch
Tahiti – Steevy Chong Hue: Chong Hue is the man who scored the historic winner in the OFC Nations Cup last year to get Tahiti to this competition. Little is known about the 23-year-old forward, who has struck 10 times for his country and played for teams called Samine, Dragon, Brussels and most recently Dragon again during his career. Could he be set to score another priceless goal in Tahitian football history?
Nigeria – Ahmed Musa: CSKA Moscow forward Musa could be vital for Nigeria as he will be expected to help fill the void left by the absences of Emenike and Moses. Musa was signed by VVV Venlo as a 17-year-old before moving to Russia and has scored 13 times for CSKA since. Equally capable of playing key through-balls as he is of darting into the area with his speed and finding the net, he is a bundle of tricks and a daunting opponent for a defender to face.
Match Prediction
Nigeria couldn’t have asked for a better way to adjust to the conditions in Brazil than a meeting with Tahiti. Keshi will demand professionalism from his squad and may well have had that in mind when bringing so many untested players, who may have more motivation to shine against the underdogs of Tahiti. And they may just recognise some of them too, as Nigeria and Tahiti met at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in 2009.
Eddy Etaeta’s Tahiti are best served by getting the ball into Vahirua, whose experience and calm on the ball is their best hope of getting into promising positions and threatening the Nigerian goal. Ultimately though the Tahiti team will have to be well organised to repel wave after wave of Nigerian attacks – and they lost 7-0 recently in a friendly against Chile’s Under-20 team. But Tahiti may be inspired by the knowledge that it was in Belo Horizonte that one of the most famous upsets in football history took place, as the USA beat England 1-0 in the 1950 World Cup.
The most likely outcome of this game is the expected victory for Nigeria, but with the problems surrounding the build-up to this tournament for them, Keshi’s side may labour to their win. Expect Tahiti to put up a valiant but fruitless fight, yet gain the admiration of millions. Tahiti 0-1 Nigeria.
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