NFA to decide on Eagles next month

Nigerian Football Federation (NFA) Chairman, Ibrahim Galadima has said that the future of coach Christian Chukwu and the Super Eagles squad rest on the meeting of the football body next month.

"This Nations Cup was a good tournament for us by all standards. We reached the semi-finals when many people didn't give us a chance and our next target will be to qualify for the World Cup," Galadima told newsmen in Tunis after Nigeria's defeat against Tunisia on Thursday.

"With the talent we have in the squad, there is no reason why we can't make it to Germany. The only
problem remains getting the best out of our talented players.

"By March, we hope to take decisions on the way forward for Nigerian football but, in the meantime, we
can take important lessons from this tournament. "

One good thing is that, for the first time in a long time, there were no arguments over cash with the
players and the team was not disgraced."

Chukwu blames wrong anthem

Super Eagles chief coach, Christain Chukwu has revealed that the wrong national athem played by
Tunisia contributed to the loss of the team in the semi final of the Nokia Nations Cup.

"It was insulting and it greatly disturbed us before the game started," Chukwu said on Thursday.

"It was a deliberate attempt to destablise the team. Even when the right one was played after half-time, we still couldn't hear it because of the whistling by the crowd.

"They showed a lack of respect and it is not acceptable."

Tunisia came under fire on Thursday for playing the wrong national anthem at the start of a match for the second time in the tournament.

Nigeria were the latest team to suffer the indignity of having to stand and listen to an unknown tune
although such were the catcalls and jeers from the 60,000 Tunisian crowd at Wednesday's semi-final at
Rades that it was unlikely the team heard much of it.

The organisers eventually discovered the correct anthem and, bizarrely, ordered both teams to line up
again at the start of the second half while it was played out to another chorus of boos and whistles.
Wednesday's embarrassment was not the first time the organisers, who are still hoping to be named hosts of the 2010 World Cup, had been left red-faced by an anthem mix-up.

In the first round, Zimbabwe protested at an old ational anthem being played in their opening match
with Egypt in Sfax.

Zimbabwe Information minister Jonathan Moyo was outraged and, like Chukwu, insisted it had been
deliberate.

"It was a cheap attempt by the organisers to demoralise our boys," said Moyo.

Tunisia's football federation were fined $1,000 after their team's supporters roundly booed the Senegal
national anthem before the start of Saturday's quarter-final which was also staged at Rades stadium.
"The fine was for the public's anti-sporting behaviour in whistling the Senegal national anthem," said a
spokesman.