join in his celebrations and hold up
hand-made signs of adoration for their
beloved No10. But Mexico's defenders
have nightmares about the lanky
Kelechi Iheanacho. He swirled around
them in the opening game, as if
attached to wires in the rafters of the
Khalifa Bin Zayed Stadium. He was
irresistible in the first game of Group F,
scoring four times in a 6-1 demolition
of the holders that seemed to indicate a
title defence was little more than
fantasy.
"I'm sure they won't feel great about
that first result," Iheanacho told
FIFA.com after beating Sweden in
Dubai in the semi-finals. "They'll want
to put pressure on us and we'll have to
be careful. We'll respect them, but it's
hard to go against us when we're
playing our good football."
All of Nigeria's acclaim and adulation
here in UAE is built on foundations of
Mexican humiliation. The day after
that opening game in Al Ain, a party
was thrown by local dignitaries in
honour of the four competing Group F
nations. Iheanacho and his mates
danced freely with Iraq's young talents
at twilight, the polite and blushing
Swedes visited the buffet straight
away. But Mexico's players were
nowhere to be found. They were exiled
to their rooms thinking about that
heavy defeat, that crushing loss to
Nigeria.
Football is good at offering second
chances, but Iheanacho – near the top
of the scorer's charts with five of
Nigeria's 23 goals – has bad news for
the revived Mexicans. "We've got
better since that opener," he told
FIFA.com under the bright lights in the
corridor of the Rashid Stadium, press
from back home clamouring for a chat
with the young prodigy. "We've
become closer and we're going to chase
them all over the field; we're going to
press them with our attackers and we
won't rest. We'll go at them for 90
minutes until we're sure the trophy is
ours."
Iheanacho has big tired eyes, looking
always on the verge of slipping off to
sleep. He hails from Imo State and his
surname means 'the wanted, or
desired, one' in his native Igbo
language, suitable considering the
rowdy Nigerian fans in Al Ain for the
first game against Mexico were
chanting "Call him up" – presumably to
the Super Eagles senior team – even
before he'd scored his fourth.
"They give us courage," Iheanacho said
of the Nigerian fans who've offered the
tournament colour and swagger, their
trumpets blaring for all of the Eaglets'
matches. "But you can't play for the
gallery, you have to play for your
team-mates. But they do give us
confidence and they cheer us up so
that we can play in the right way," he
went on about the supporters who've
sparked the venues of this Arab
country with flashes of Lagos and
Abuja.
Buzz from the terraces
Just as Mexican fans have their
traditional taunt of Ole, a remnant of
the nation's bullfighting tradition,
Nigerian football fans have their own
way of inspiring their side and
deflating the opponent. When
Iheanacho and co get into their fast
passing rhythm in attack, a squeal
comes with each pass – aye, aye, aye in
a high register, like a chirping bird,
until the ball is lost. Then a low ooh of
disappointment, almost disapproval.
"It's a way Nigerians show their love of
attacking football, fast, quick passes,"
Sunday Oliseh, twice a World Cup
participant for and a true legend of
Nigerian football, said in a recent
interview. "They've been doing it long
before my time. It's been there
forever."
The loudest aye comes when
Iheanacho gets the ball, because –
though it will be poison to Mexican
ears – he's gotten better as the
tournament's gone on. A four-goal
opener is clear evidence that the young
man knows where the goal is, but he's
since shown his ability as a creator, his
seven assists marking him out as one
of the best all-around players this
junior world showpiece has ever seen.
Are you a playmaker Kelechi, or a
scorer? A long pause. "I'm both," he
smiled. Another pause. "But I it's not
important to call yourself one or the
other. If I'm in a good position to score
then I'm happy to put the ball in the
back of the net, but if I'm not, and I see
someone in a better position, I'll give it
to him. It doesn't matter in our team
who scores the goals, who finishes top
scorer or top player. It's a collective
effort.
"We have to work as a team, play as a
team," he added, knowing full well he
and his mates have offered as
harmonious a brand of football as any
before at this age level. "This is how
you win matches." It is indeed, and
with talents like Musa Yahaya, Taiwo
Awoniyi and Abdullahi Alfa alongside
Iheanacho, rest may not come easy for
Mexico's defenders in the wee hours
tonight.
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from MTN
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