TheCable

Super Eagles midfielder, Sunday Mba, was left out of the team to the World Cup because he lacked “hunger and fight”, Coach Stephen keshi has revealed.

The CA Bastia forward, who scored the lone goal in Nigeria’s win against Burkina Faso at the last Africa Cup of Nations, has said he is “gutted” to have been excluded from the team.

Mba, who was late in joining the Eagles’ training camp in London last week because of a visa hitch, took to his Twitter handle @mba_sunday, to express his mood.

“Gutted to not make the 23-man team to the World Cup. Really wanted to fight and sweat for the glory of the team and my beloved country.”

But speaking with fifa.com, Nigeria coach, Stephen Keshi, said the midfielder did not show enough desire to be part of the Brazil squad.

“His lateness to camp contributed (to his missing out) but outside that, he did not show the hunger, the fight, we expected from him,” Keshi told Fifa.com.

“We have only two-and-a-half weeks to prepare for the World Cup, and he was not giving us what we wanted. He was very relaxed, and it was unlike him.”

The six other players who will not be on the flight to Brazil next week are Joel Obi (Inter Milan), Nosa Igiebor (Real Betis), Nnamdi Oduamadi (AC Milan), Obinna Nsofor (Lokomotiv Moscow), Daniel Akpeyi (Warri Wolves)and Ejike Uzoenyi (Enugu Rangers).