Marquinhos extends PSG contract

Brazilian international defender Marquinhos has extended his contract with Paris Saint-Germain by a year until 2019, the Ligue 1 champions confirmed on Thursday.

Capped four times for Brazil, Marquinhos, 20, arrived in the French capital in July 2013 from AS Roma.

"It's a wonderful achievement, good news. It shows work well done," said Marquinhos as PSG sit top of Ligue 1.

"I'm very happy they've shown this confidence in me. It's a new stage in my life," he continued.

"Paris Saint-Germain is a big team, recognised all over the world. We're playing Champions League so the level is progressing. I'm progressing here."

PSG's Qatari president Nasser Al-Khelaifi added: "Marquinhos represents the club's future and the renewal of his contract is a strong sign of what he means to PSG.

"We're very happy to be able to prolong our adventure with this talented young player.While the biggest European clubs are following Marquinhos, this extension reinforces PSG's long-term ambitions."

Club Africain make Pyagbara enquiry

Tunisian side Club Africain have made preliminary query on the availability of Dolphins attacker Christian Pyagbara, supersport.com has been informed.

Officials of the Tunisian club have been asking their Dolphins counterparts about the possibility of doing business for Pyagbara.

"Officials of Club Africain are keen on signing a Nigerian striker with a goalscoring pedigree like Emem Eduok. So they have been asking about Christian Pyagbara and the possibility of signing him," a top Dolphins administrative staff member said to supersport.com.

The Tunisian club are also still keen on Enyimba striker Mfon Udoh and even asked if he has an offer from any other club.

Club Africain had earlier approached Enyimba for Udoh but the former Nigerian champions' asking price for the striker, believed to be around $500 000, put off the 12-time Tunisian champions.

But Club Africain are now keen on signing a Nigerian and are ready to make an approach for Pyagbara, whose owner supersport.com learned does not belong to Dolphins.

Pyagbara scored 14 league goals for Sharks last season before switching to Dolphins this season.

Lampard visits future MLS club

Manchester City midfielder Frank Lampard will visit his future Major League Soccer club this weekend, attending a New York City match against Sporting Kansas City on Saturday at Yankee Stadium.

Lampard will take advantage of the English Premier League side's break for international matches to look at the surroundings where he is set to begin playing in July, according to the league's website.

"I'm certain we’ll get to spend some time together," New York City coach Jason Kreis said.

"It's really exciting, obviously, that he's going to take that time and make the effort to come over and see us this weekend when he has a break.

"We'll look forward to spending some time with him and also getting him around the guys some more. I think that's important."

Lampard signed with New York City last year with plans to join the team in January, but Manchester City, who operate the MLS expansion club, extended his stay to what is about the midpoint of the MLS campaign.

Kreis says Lampard's July timetable has not been altered despite Manchester City's elimination from the Uefa Champions League.

"It's certainly not anything that's being discussed," Kreis said. "We need to prepare ourselves and be ready for him to join us in the summer. We're still very excited about that prospect, but we’re not going to speculate on anything happening sooner than that."

Lampard will join Spanish striker David Villa as his new club's star attraction.

"As soon as we have him here, that would be ideal, because he is an excellent player, a world-class player, a real legend," Villa said. "He is going to make us even better when he comes around."

Sam Ssimbwa confirmed on Thursday he has quit as coach of Ugandan

Sam Ssimbwa confirmed on Thursday he has quit as coach of Ugandan record champions SC Villa after falling out with the club just five months into the job.

The 48-year-old is said to have relinquished his job following a spate of disagreements with the club hierarchy over wide-ranging issues.

A section of fans is also said to disapprove of his disciplinarian actions and were agitated when Ssimbwa suspended the club captain and darling Stephen Bengo early this year on disciplinary grounds.

Preliminary reports from the club suggest Ssimbwa, who replaced sacked Stephen Bogere last August, has been dismissed for insubordination.

But the 2012 league winning coach with Express dismissed the talk, saying he has resigned his position as SC Villa coach because of what he calls disrespect by the club.

“I lost my daughter this week and no one from the club appeared yet I had informed them,” Ssimbwa told a local publication, the Daily Monitor, on Thursday.

“They later summoned me to the disciplinary committee and I told them I would not appear. That was the last time I had heard from them.”

Phone calls to two Villa officials on media matters were futile by press time as their known phone contacts went unanswered. The club are expected to issue a statement on the matter in the next 24 hours.

Ssimbwa won two Kakungulu Cup titles with Mbale Heroes (1999) and Express FC (2007) before capping a league gong with the Red Eagles in 2012 – their sixth in history.

He was also Cranes assistant coach to Mohammed Abbas, László Csaba and later to Bobby Williamson.

He holds a coaching licence from Germany and has also had managing stints at KCC, Health, Military Police, Simba (Uganda) and Kenya Premier League side Sofapaka.

Algeria jeered after losing in Qatar

Algeria lost their first game since their disappointing Africa Cup of Nations campaign, going down tamely 1-0 to Qatar in a friendly in Doha on Thursday.

A superb 32nd minute goal from Ali Assadalla proved the difference between the two sides.

The midfielder picked up the ball 35 yards from goal, before embarking on a jinking run, beating several Algerian plyers before calmly finishing in the game's stand out individual moment.

Qatar, themselves returning to action following an awful Asian Cup tournament where they lost all their three games, just about deserved victory for their spirited first half performance.

They threatened the Algerian goal several times in the first half with Ismail Mohammed hitting the post in the 27th minute and Abdulrahman Abakar going close from a corner just three minutes later.

In the second half Algeria, who included Tottenham midfielder Nabil Bentaleb in their side, dominated but rarely looked like finding an equaliser.

The closest they came was a volley from second half substitute Ishak Belfodil in the 50th minute, which forced a fine save from goalkeeper Amine Claude Lecomte.

The result proved another disappointment for French coach Christian Gourcuff's stuttering side who were dumped out of the Africa Cup at the quarterfinal stage.

This latest reversal was greeted by jeers from the many Algerians supporters in the 2 700 crowd at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium in the Qatari capital.

Three fined for Real players attack

Spanish government commission has imposed fines of €3 001 on a Real Madrid member and two others who insulted players and struck at least one of their vehicles after Sunday's La Liga 'Clasico' defeat at Barcelona.

Players including Wales winger Gareth Bale and forward Jese were targeted along with coach Carlo Ancelotti after they arrived back in Madrid following the 2-1 defeat at the Nou Camp.

The government's anti-violence in sport commission imposed the fines as well as a six-month ban from sports installations, the commission said on Thursday.

Real said on Monday one of the three men had been identified as a member and had been suspended and banned from their facilities pending a disciplinary hearing on whether to expel him from the club.

Second-placed Real's defeat left them four points behind leaders Barca with 10 games left.

Falcao hits brace for Colombia; Chile lose

World Cup quarterfinalists Colombia cruised to a 6-0 rout of Bahrain while Chile lost 2-0 to Iran in contrasting Copa America warm-ups for the two South American teams on Thursday.

Colombia captain Radamel Falcao laid on an opening 14th-minute goal for strike partner Carlos Bacca then scored twice in five minutes, his first a sweet volley, as Colombia hardly broke sweat at Bahrain's National Stadium in Riffa.

Falcao, who is lacking regular first team football at Manchester United, leapt at his chance to lead his country's attack and responded with goals in the 32nd and 36th minutes to take his tally to 23 in 55 internationals.

The striker, who missed the World Cup in Brazil last year after knee ligament surgery and last scored for the national team in a friendly against El Salvador in October, is one goal short of Arnoldo Iguaran's Colombia record of 24.

Adrian Ramos and debutants Johan Mojica and Andres Renteria added further goals in the final half hour for the visitors who were without World Cup ace James Rodriguez, who is coming back from a foot injury.

Iran ran up a two-goal lead over a second string Chile side after 50 minutes through midfielders Javad Nekounam and Vahid Amiri in the Austrian town of Sankt Poelten.

A raft of changes in the second half, including the introduction of Alexis Sanchez, David Pizarro and Gary Medel, failed to stop Chile suffering a disappointing defeat.

The Chileans, who are staging the Copa America from June 11-July 4, were saving their best for Saturday's clash with Brazil at Arsenal's Emirates stadium in London and were far from the high tempo side that was so impressive at the World Cup.

Colombia round off their Middle East tour against Kuwait on Monday.

Paraguay were due to face Costa Rica in San Jose later on Thursday.

Cuper starts Pharaohs era with a win

Egypt head coach Hector Cuper has started off his time with the North African nation on a winning note.

The Pharaohs of Egypt cruised past Equatorial Guinea 2-0 in an international friendly at the Petro Sport Stadium in Cairo on Thursday.

Goals from Basem Morsi and Mahmoud Trezeguet made sure Cuper got off to a winning start as Egypt's manager.

Without the duo of Ahmed Fathi and Ahmed El-Shennawy, Egypt's Argentine coach went for an attacking style of 4-4-2 with captain Emad Meteb and Mohamed Salah playing as the two men upfront.

The Egyptians were business-like from the start despite playing behind closed doors, until goalkeeper Sherif Ekramy was forced to produce an unorthodox save.

The Pharaohs should have opened the scoring in the 32nd minute through Trezeguet after a superb through ball from Salah but he blazed over.

Four minutes later, Ahmed Elmohamady had his goal chalked off for offside.

It was all Cuper's men in the last 10 minutes of the first half and Meteb came close to scoring the opener but missed.

The Pharaohs failed to score in the first 45 minutes despite dominating for long spells.

Cuper altered his team in the second half with Morsi taking up an attacking role after replacing Elmohamady while Salah played as a wide man.

The Egyptians continued to press for that opening goal with Saleh Gomaa and Salah getting close.

The North Africans left it late as Morsi broke the deadlock in the 85th minute just about 60 seconds after Javier Balboa failed to head Equatorial Guinea in front from a rare chance.

At the death when it looked like the game would be decided by Morsi's goal, Trezeguet conjured up an incredible individual finish to give Cuper's men a 2-0 win.

African champs Ivory Coast beat Angola

Ivory Coast began life as African champions with a 2-0 home victory over Angola on Thursday in an international football friendly match.

The Ivorian Elephants fielded seven of the starting line-up that won the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea last month after a penalty shootout against Ghana.

Two of the changes made by French coach Herve Renard were enforced as goalkeeper Boubacar Barry, scorer of the decisive shootout penalty, and centre-back Kolo Toure have quit international football.

But the presence of stars like midfielder Yaya Toure and striker Wilfried Bony from Manchester City and Roma winger Gervinho ensured the champions were too strong for African middleweights Angola.

A rain-soaked Stade Houphouet-Boigny pitch made good football a challenge in the first of two friendlies this week for the Ivorians, who host Equatorial Guinea at the same venue on Sunday.

Turkey-based defender Ousmane Viera Diarrassouba, who did not feature in the Cup of Nations decider, opened the scoring midway through the first half.

And any hopes the Angolan Black Antelopes had of salvaging a draw disappeared minutes before time when substitute Salomon Kalou from German outfit Hertha Berlin converted a penalty.

Egypt scored twice in the final five minutes to secure a 2-0 victory over Equatorial Guinea in Cairo and give Argentine coach Hector Cuper a winning start.

Former Valencia and Inter Milan manager Cuper called up many stars from leading Cairo clubs Al-Ahly and Zamalek and one from each side contributed a goal.

Zamalek striker Bassem Morsi broke the deadlock on 86 minutes in an empty Petro Sport Stadium after authorities barred spectators because 20 fans died in clashes with police before a recent game.

Mahmoud 'Trezeguet' Hassan doubled the lead in the final minute for the Pharaohs, who are hoping to become an African football power again after failing to qualify for the last three Cup of Nations.

The retirement of stars like defender Wael Gomaa and midfielders Mohamed Abou Trika and Mohamed Barakat have hit the Egyptians hard.

Disruptions to domestic football because of crowd violence and playing in empty stadiums have also contributed to the fall from power of the record seven-time African champions.

Equatorial Guinea were playing for the first time since hosting the 2015 Cup of Nations and exceeding expectations by finishing fourth.

Algeria, who began the Cup of Nations as favourites only to be eliminated by Ivory Coast in the quarterfinals, lost 1-0 in Doha to 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar.

Ali Assadalla held off several challenges to fire the first-half winner past goalkeeper Azzedine Doukha at the Abdullah ben Khalifa Stadium.

An Algerian side ranked No 1 in Africa and containing Porto midfielder Yacine Brahimi rarely impressed against a Qatari side 91 places lower on the Fifa rankings.

Brazil come from behind to down France

A fine finish from captain Neymar helped secure a come-from-behind 3-1 win for Brazil over France in a friendly in Paris on Thursday as they maintained their perfect record since the return as coach of Dunga.

Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane had headed the hosts in front on a cold night at a packed Stade de France, only for Oscar to equalise late in the first half.

Barcelona forward Neymar then controlled a Willian pass and lashed the ball high into the roof of the net from the left edge of the six-yard box in the 57th minute to put the visitors in front, and a Luiz Gustavo header secured the victory midway through the second period.

Brazil have now won seven consecutive friendly matches under Dunga following the heavy defeats to Germany and the Netherlands that saw their World Cup campaign on home soil last year end in such catastrophic fashion.

And this latest success against an accomplished France side will have been particularly pleasing to Dunga, back where he captained the Selecao in a painful 3-0 World Cup final defeat to the French in 1998.

"In football you win and lose, but it's always good to beat a team as strong as France," he said. "The team played well, but nothing was perfect. We still made mistakes that could have been avoided."

In the opposite dugout this time was Didier Deschamps, the current France coach who skippered Les Bleus on that glorious night 17 years ago.

"We were punished for our mistakes," Deschamps told TF1 television after the game. "Even if the World Cup was a trauma for them, they still have very, very good players and they did reach the semifinals.

"It was good for us tonight to have to face up to a difficult situation. We will learn from this."

Seeing Deschamps and Dunga lock horns once again added extra intrigue to an occasion which was also notable for the French Football Federation's decision to honour those who have won more than 100 caps for France.

World Cup winners Marcel Desailly, Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry and Zinedine Zidane were all received by President Francois Hollande inside the stadium and then presented to the crowd before the game.

The French, without goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and midfielders Yohan Cabaye and Paul Pogba due to injury, had themselves not been beaten since exiting last year's World Cup in the quarterfinals to Germany and had not lost a friendly since a 3-0 defeat in Brazil in June 2013.

They started the game well and only a remarkable save by goalkeeper Jefferson prevented Karim Benzema – wearing the captain's armband in the absence of Lloris – from opening the scoring from point-blank range early on.

That chance had come from a corner and it was from another corner that the hosts got the breakthrough in the 21st minute, Varane rising to meet a Mathieu Valbuena delivery from the left and heading home.

It was a second goal in as many international outings for the defender, who also scored with his head in the 1-0 friendly defeat of Sweden in November.

OSCAR EQUALISER

Neymar had forced a good low save out of Steve Mandanda in the French goal just before that, and Brazil slowly grew into the game, threatening through Robert Firmino before Oscar levelled five minutes prior to the break.

The little Chelsea midfielder exchanged passes with Firmino before stabbing a shot low under Mandanda from just inside the area.

Dunga's men started the second period strongly too and Mandanda beat away a Luiz Gustavo shot before they took the lead thanks to Neymar's 43rd international goal.

Benzema blazed over from a Valbuena cross and Jefferson tipped over a long-range strike by Antoine Griezmann but it was Brazil who struck again on 69 minutes.

Patrice Evra had gone down injured during a France attack but Brazil played on and Oscar saw a shot turned around the post by Mandanda.

The corner that followed was delivered from the right by Willian and Luiz Gustavo – the only starter on the night along with Oscar who also started in that infamous 7-1 loss to Germany last year – headed powerfully home.

That put the final outcome beyond doubt, although substitute Nabil Fekir, making his France debut, curled a shot just wide late on.

Vogts joins US braintrust

Berti Vogts, who played on Germany's 1974 World Cup winning team and coached their 1996 European championship squad, was named a national team technical advisor on Thursday by the United States Soccer Federation.

US national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann was captain of the 1996 European trophy winners guided by Vogts, who gave Klinsmann advice on a less formal basis at last year's World Cup, when the Americans went out in the round of 16.

"We had a fantastic experience with Berti during the 2014 Fifa World Cup," Klinsmann said. "His knowledge and experience is a tremendous asset for us."

The move comes in the wake of a 3-2 loss Wednesday at Denmark and Klinsmann saying he wanted to ensure young European-based talents Julian Green and DeAndre Yedlin, struggling for playing time at Hamburg and Tottenham respectively, had US team support.

Vogts will oversee player development in Europe, including scouting work, improving club relationships and identifying talent.

In a 14-year career that saw him help Borussia Moenchengladbach to five Bundesliga crowns and two Uefa Cups, Vogts also earned 96 caps for Germany and played 19 matches over three World Cups, famously marking Dutch star Johan Cruyff in a 2-1 German win in the 1974 World Cup final.

Vogts guided Germany to 66 wins, 24 draws and 12 defeats from 1990-98. He has also guided the national teams of Scotland (2002-04) and Nigeria (2007-08) and managed Azerbaijan from 2008-2014.

New Zealand is where Eagles will dare

Nigeria’s Flying Eagles shoved aside every opposition at the just concluded Orange African Under-20 Championship in Senegal to claim their seventh title as well as book their passage to the upcoming 2015 Fifa Under-20 World Cup in New Zealand.

That hard earned victory at the African championship on the West African soil set Nigeria up to open their title account at the global stage in Group E together with, Brazil, Korea DPR and Hungary.

The two of the powerhouses of world football, Brazil and Nigeria will square up in the group’s mouth-watering opener on Monday, June 01 at Taranaki Stadium in New Plymouth before the tricky clashes against Asian giants, Korea DPR and Hungary on June 04 and 07 in New Plymouth respectively.

Nigeria has raised the bar with their almost flawless performance in Senegal (above) to make bookmakers to start looking at the West African side as the next heir apparent to repeat the feat of their neighbours, Ghana in same competition on African soil, in Egypt in 2009.

The nation has notched up good performances in age grade competitions in the past to elicit high expectations of a possible first world title in the U20 group after being runners-up in 1985, 2005 and 2013 in Turkey.

Coach Manu Garba who guided Flying Eagles to claim the African title in Senegal appears to have the magic wand to win titles across the globe. Garba took the Golden Eaglets after a runners-up effort behind winners, Ivory Coast in Morocco at the Africa cadet championship to win the WCup in the United Arab Emirates.

Prior to this he was part and parcel of the late coach Theophilus Adeyemi Tella's team that won the world title in in Korea in 2007 and as a player winning the Orange African Under-20 Championship in 1983.

He appears to have mastered the arithmetic of using an unknown quantity o players to achieve landmark results l.

“The team is the future of Nigerian football. We have only two players from the Nigerian Premier League with the rest from academies which is a good sign for the development of Nigerian football,” said Garba.

Garba was bullish at the prospect of confronting heavyweights, Brazil, Korea and Hungary in New Zealand insisting that his side have an equal chance of success like any other opponent.

“Every team that will be at the World Cup has equal opportunities of winning the World Cup so let’s not start thinking one team is the favourite.

“I believe every team that has qualified is good because they wouldn’t be there if they aren’t good.

“So whether we are playing Brazil or not doesn’t bother me at all. It’s the same thing and all the teams will go there and prove what they can do,” he said.

Though Flying Eagles were firm and ruthless in their first two matches at the recently championship against hosts, Senegal and Congo Brazzaville which they won massively 3-1 and 4-1 respectively the last group game against Ivory Coast exposed the side as far from impervious.. That trend was equally glaring against Ghana and Senegal.

This has caused both fan and many a pundit to recommended the injection of key members of the Golden Eaglets World Cup winning side like kelechi Iheanacho, Isaac Success, Chidiebere Nwakali, Chidera Eze, Dele Alampasu, among others to complement the good work of equally talented players like Taiwo Awoniyi, Musa Mohammed, Obinna Nwobodo, Christian Pyagbara, Bernard Bulbwa, Omego Prince, Enaholo Joshua, Olorunleke Ojo,.

The concern here is that Nigeria cannot afford to go to New Zealand to merely add up the numbers but indeed challenge for the title having come close three times to lifting it.

As per the Eagles opponents. Brazil progressed to the final phase of the South American Under-20 Championship as Group B runners-up behind Uruguay to whom they lost and finishing a distant fourth with an uninspiring seven points.

Brazil adopted a defensive set-up at the South American Under-20 Championship and with it they struggled for goals. They failed to score in four of their nine games and only posted more than two goals once. That is most likely to change in New Zealand against opposition from Nigeria, Korea and Hungary as the side are highly favoured to progress from the group.

Korea DPR © Getty images

Korea DPR above missed out at the Fifa Under-20 World Cup in Turkey 2013 and entered the Asian qualifying race desperately seeking their return to the global showpiece in 2015. They duly achieved that goal by reaching the final of the AFC Under-19 Championship only to be edged out by Qatar by 1-0 to claim one of Asia's four qualifying spots in New Zealand.

Korea's fighting spirit trademark as well as soaking up pressure before hitting opponents on the break will be on display in New Zealand. The Asian side may be lacking in international experience but rivals will write them off at their own peril.

Hungary have participated in the Fifa Under-20 World Cup on five occasions, the first four of which saw them eliminated at the group stage (Tunisia 1977, Japan 1979, USSR 1985 and Malaysia 1997).

Their best-ever tournament performance came the last time they qualified in Egypt in 2009 when they lost to eventual winners, Ghana in the semifinals and beat Costa Rica on penalties in the third-place play-off.

Nigeria meanwhile have qualified for the Fifa Under-20 World Cup more often than any other African team stand a good chance to navigate their way from the group stage with a clinical performance in the opener against Brazil.

Dave Beeche, tournament Local Organising Committee (LOC) chief executive, sums it up for all when he says:

“We are thrilled by the quality of the countries that have qualified for the tournament. African countries have a proud track record in this competition and we expect one or two of them to be in contention deep into the knockout phase,”

Balogun scores tops in player ratings

Nigeria’s loss to Uganda on Wednesday in an international friendly at the Akwa Ibom International Stadium left a lot to be desired as the Super Eagles put out one their worst performances in recent times on home turf.

Farouk Miya’s late goal separated the two sides in a game where chances were few and far between. The Super Eagles did little to convince fans that lessons of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nation’s miss had been learnt.

Supersport.com revisits the game and rates the players based on how they performed in the loss to the Cranes of Uganda.

Vincent Enyeama

Was called upon twice in the game and he responded well. Can't be faulted for Farouk Miya's goal as his defenders left him exposed.

Unfortunately for the Lille OSC man, he conceded on his 100th cap. Surely sour grapes wasn't what he expected on such an occasion on his home town turf.

Rating: 7.0

Chima Akas

Alongside Nelson Ogbonnaya, Akas were the only home based players who started the game before being substituted by Godfrey Oboabona.

Like a lot of others, the Sharks defender started quite well but couldn't sustain the tempo. He was caught of of position severally and showed some frayed nerves on his home debut.

Not entirely convinced he is an adequate replacement for Elderson Echiejile and Juwon Oshaniwa who were dropped for the Uganda and South Africa.

Rating: 5.0

Balogun was an Eagle among Weaver Birds

Leon Balogun: Best player on the Nigerian side by a mile and a half. Winning only his second cap, Balogun played like a veteran until he was substituted in the second half.

Assured in the tackle and showing composure for some in only his second game for Nigeria, Balogun has shown a lot of promise

The SV Darmstadt defender is shoe in for that problematic right back position considering Efe Ambrose, who usually man's that area wasn't invited for the latest series of friendlies.

Rating: 8.5

Nelson Ogbonnaya

The Heartland defender had a yo-yo game against the Cranes of Uganda but has done well to hold a place down in the team.

He was excellent in aerial challenges throughout the game but needs to work on his tackling and temperament which showed when he picked up a needless booking.

One of the promising home based players in the squad who has seen his stock grow since his debut against the Ivory Coast in January.

Rating: 6.0

Kenneth Omerou

The Middlesbrough man started the game well but faded away in the second half allowing the Ugandans to make hay in Nigeria's defensive areas.

He needs to work on his fitness as Ugandan striker Geoffrey Massa took him to the cleaners on several occasions.

Rating: 5.0

Ogenyi Onazi

Flashes of brilliance in patches but did nothing to help the cause. Sloppy in possession and gave away a lot of wayward passes.

Could have done a lot better as one of the senior players in a relative young side put out by Amokachi.

Rating: 5.0

Hope Akpan:

Did nothing spectacular in the game but was assured in possession and showed a lot of confidence on the ball. One of the better performers in an a night to forget for Nigeria.

He, alongside Ogenyi Onazi and Steve Ukoh, all defensive midfielders, were is in a quagmire as to sits or moves in the 4-3-3 formation put out by Amokachi.

Akpan kept it simple and showed he can play a part in the Super Eagles as the coaches continue to tinker with the team

Rating: 6.0

Ahmed Musa

He started the game like a house on fire and was one of the Eagles best performers in the first half but fizzled out later on.

Musa had a couple of chances but fluffed his lines on those occasions. Once again, his deliveries at set pieces lacked conviction. He surely needs to work on his crossing.

His pace, which should be his biggest asset is turning out to be his nemesis. The Eagles will do well to find his best position on the field, maybe play him more centrally like he does for his club CSKA Moscow

Rating: 6.0

Anthony Ujah: The FC Cologne striker was brought back to the team since 2013 Confederations Cup after banging in the goals for the Bundesliga side, but he did little to convince once again.

He started in attack alongside Odion Ighalo and Ahmed Musa is a triad that failed to blossom throughout the game.

He needs to make use of his chances in the national team when he gets them.

Rating:5.0

Odion Ighalo: Part of the three pong attack that started the game but didn't seem to be able to produce the goals for the Eagles.

He showed so silky skills especially in the first half and probably did himself some favour with his showing after he got praise from the technical crew after the game.

His positioning was quite impressive and he wasn't afraid to run at the Ugandan defence when he had the opportunity. Not a bad debut for the Watford man.

Rating: 6.0

Steve Ukoh: The midfielder did all the basic things right without being spectacular in any way. Plus is, he was willing to rub the green for the cause, something that was missing from a lot of the players on game day.

He switched to three different positions during the course of the game and gave his all-albeit it wasn't good enough to get the win.

Made a couple of decent tackles in the middle and may just be a good addition to the mix.

Rating: 6.0

Moses Simon: The 19 year old made his international debut against the Ugandans coming on as a second half substitute and did pretty well.

He injected more pace and bite to a dour Super Eagles attack and showed no fear at all, taking on defenders at will.

A bit rough on the edges but the AA Gent player is surely a quality addition to the Super Eagles pool. He is one for the future.

Rating: 6.5

Akeem Latifu: A debut to forget for the Aaeslund defender who also came into the game as a substitute. He looked lost towards the tail end of the game giving away unnecessary fouls and was suspect in his position.

Latifu gave up the free-kick that led to the Ugandan goal and the defender saw the ball deflect off his body past Enyeama for Farouk Miya's goal.

Rating: 4.0

Aaron Samuel: The bulky forward was introduced in the second half of the game and showed some flashes of brilliance.

Used his physique quite well albeit he couldn't get a goal. Quality alternative in the Super Eagles team.

Rating: 5.0

Hard work pays off - Cardoso

When Bafana Bafana head coach Ephraim Mashaba announced his 30-man squad for the two international friendly matches against Swaziland and Nigeria, he named six new players – among them was Daniel Cardoso of Free State Stars.

Not only was he called up for the first time into the national team set-up but he also made it into the starting line-up and played the entire 90 minutes against Swaziland in a 3-1 win at the Somhlolo Stadium on Wednesday, 25 March.

Bafana Bafana have now moved to Mbombela in Nelspruit to prepare for the clash with the Super Eagles of Nigeria on Sunday, 29 March at the Mbombela Stadium. Kick-off is at 153h0.

SAFA Media spoke to Cardoso about his call-up, his debut, and his hopes.

Matlhomola Morake: Who is Daniel Cardoso?

Daniel Cardoso: I am a player from Free State Stars. I am a versatile player - I play at right-back, left-back, centre-back, I have played in the midfield, I have played upfront, in fact anywhere on the field except for goalkeeper.

MM: And your surname…..

DC: It’s a Portuguese surname, my dad is from Portugal, his parents grew up in Portugal, and he moved to South Africa when he was younger and my mom is from South Africa.

MM: Have you been to Portugal?

DC: I have yes. I actually went for trials with some club there when I was younger but nothing came out of it and I returned to South Africa.

MM: Would you like to play in Portugal some day?

DC: Of course yes, I would really like to play anywhere in Europe as long as it is a good league I don’t mind.

MM: Coming back to Bafana Bafana matters, what was your first reaction when you heard your name called up in the squad announcement?

DC: I was sitting at home in Bethlehem in the Free State, and I got a tweet from one of my friends to say I have been called up to the national team and I didn’t believe him and ten minutes later I got a call from the media. They said I should check on a sports channel on television and I saw my name there, then I had goose bumps all over my body for about ten minutes. I was very thrilled about it. I have been working hard, I didn’t expect the call up because I was injured at the beginning of the season but I must say hard work pays off.

MM: Who was the first person you called or spoke to about your inclusion in the national team?

DC: My agent Bradley Carnell, I have a very tight relationship with him, and then I called my dad who was in shock and didn’t believe it until I convinced him it was true.

MM: Did you at any stage of your career think you would be playing for Bafana Bafana someday?

DC: I did, but never thought it would be so soon. I really thought you have to play for one of the bigger teams to be recognised but here now it has happened earlier than I anticipated, so hard work really pays off.

MM: How were your first few days in camp?

DC: It was awesome. I am working with a great bunch of players – the cream of the crop in South Africa I want to believe. The coaching staff, the backroom staff, they were all welcoming so it has been a good venture so far.

MM: Day of the match against Swaziland you see your name in the starting line-up, what goes through your mind?

DC: Again emotions running high, it was a good feeling for me again. I really didn’t expect to get a starting berth on my debut, but I believe it’s a great achievement for me and my football career and I just hope it goes higher and higher from there.

MM: Were you nervous?

DC: Of course, I was a bit nervous and you could see it on the field, first half I was a bit shy to play but in the second half I came out of my shell and was more confident.

MM: And how was it walking on to the field, wearing the national team jersey, singing the national anthem?

DC: It felt like a dream when I walked out there, seeing a couple of thousand fans, wearing the national team jersey, it’s an amazing experience and for every footballer, young footballer, I am sure they can’t wait to do the same to achieve that goal. It has always been a goal of mine of play for the national team.

MM: It must have felt even greater to win the match on debut?

DC: It was very great, the squad battled a bit in the recent Afcon tournament, going up one nil then pressure coming – I felt it here too. We go 2-0 up and Swaziland scores one goal and piles on the pressure. But it was a good win for us and we can only go higher from here.

MM: What do you think of your overall performance?

DC: I think I did well overall. Like I said, in the beginning there were a lot of nerves but when I came out of those nerves I started playing my natural football and it felt much better.

MM: Did you speak to anyone prior to the match to calm down the nerves?

DC: I spoke to a few players who said I must play my normal game and even before I walked out on to the field the coach said I must play my own game and not worry about other things and it helped to calm me down a bit.

MM: We are now in Mbombela, preparing for an even tougher clash against Nigeria. What are your thoughts on that one?

DC: Nigeria is a big footballing nation, for me my emotions are running wild; the nerves are sinking in a bit. But I think after a couple of training sessions I am starting to settle in, it was a bit nerve-wrecking against Swaziland especially having played 90 minutes so the body is a bit tired but I am looking forward to it.

MM: Do you fancy your name in the starting line-up against Nigeria?

DC: It would be another dream come true. I am going towards that. In fact I would love that because as they say nothing is impossible if you believe. And if it happens I will grab it with both hands and I think I won’t be as nervous as I was against Swaziland because it will be my second cap.

MM: What do you think our chances are against Nigeria?

DC: Like I said, Nigeria is a big footballing nation, but with the team that we have now – the likes of Ayanda Patosi, Lebogang Phiri, Thulani Serero, Andile Jali who all play well overseas, and back home we have fighters like Oupa Manyisa, Sibusiso Vilakazi, Thulani Hlatshwayo – all are hungry for a win against Nigeria which will lift us up, so I am confident we will do well.

MM: The players you just mentioned, how is it like for you mixing with them?

DC: It’s a great feeling, when the overseas contingent comes back here it’s a big family, we all stick together and that’s what I think brings a lot of confidence in the team.

MM: Anything you have learnt from those guys or the set-up?

DC: First of all it’s the professionalism in the team, that’s the first thing you notice about the players here. I also have a lot of respect for the guys. I look up to them, the likes of Itumeleng Khune, Mandla Masango, Bongani Zungu, Kamohelo Mokotjo, Tokelo Rantie – all the players here.

MM: And what lies ahead for Daniel Cardoso beyond the Nigeria match?

DC: I am still concentrating on Free State Stars, we are in the bottom half of the table and it’s not a comfortable feeling. We escaped relegation last season so this time the focus is to help get the team to safety and I will take it from there.