Emmanuel Emenike, who plays as a striker for Fenerbahce in the Turkish Super Lig, is known for his unstoppable pace and strong physical power in one-on-one combats, and he is expected to put that into action for the Super Eagles when the World Cup kicks off in Brazil this month.
Emmanuel Emenike
On January 21, 2013, he scored in Nigeria’s opening African Cup of Nations (AFCON) match against Burkina Faso in a 1–1 draw. He also scored the first goal in the quarter-final match between Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire which Nigeria won 2–1. On February 3, he scored a 30-yard free-kick, giving Nigeria a 2–1 win over Cote d’Ivoire in the AFCON.
In 2013, he became part of the third Nigerian team to win the African Cup of Nations – Nigeria’s first continental victory since 1994.
His four goals proved crucial to Nigeria’s progress through the tournament, and he was named to the team of the African Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament.
However, he wasn’t included in the final, due to a thigh injury. He also received the Pepsi Tournament Top Scorer, with four goals, along with Ghana’s Wakaso Mubarak.
In March 2013, he was left out of the squad for the World Cup qualifier, due to hamstring injury, and criticised Nigeria’s coach and officials of ignoring him.
In June 2013, he wasn’t included for Nigeria’s squad at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. After four months without being called up, he was invited for August’s Mandela Cup friendly match, but did not participate due to injury.
He celebrated his absence from Eagles in September 2013 when he played in the 2014 World Cup qualifier against Malawi – in Calabar. He scored a goal in the 2-0 win by the Super Eagles (a win which took the team to the final round of World Cup qualifiers).
He came on as a substitute three days later in a friendly match against Burkina Faso, played in Kaduna and scored the fourth goal in a 4–1 win for the Eagles.
On October 13, 2013, in the first-leg of last round of the World Cup qualifier against Ethiopia, he scored twice to give the Super Eagles a 2–1 lead going into the second-leg.