Despite playing a major role in the qualifiers to South Africa, Uche struggled to perform from the 1-1 opening Group C game against Burkina Faso at the Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit, when he came on for Emmanuel Emenike in the 58th minute.
Against Zambia, the 29-year-old spent few minutes on the pitch, coming on for CSKA Moscow’s Ahmed Musa in the 89th minute in the 1-1 draw against the then champions.
Desperate for a win in their last group game against Ethiopia, coach Stephen Keshi started Uche, hoping he would reignite the form that once saw him average a goal in every two games for the Eagles, but it appeared the player didn’t live up to expectations and was pulled out in the 65th minute before the impressive Victor Moses converted two penalties late on, to send the Eagles through.
Keshi ignored Uche, who made his international debut six years ago, in the quarter-final and semi-final games against Cote d’Ivoire and Mali respectively.
But the Aba-born forward had another chance to redeem his place in the squad after tournament top scorer Emenike pulled a hamstring against Mali.
Keshi started him in the final but he was pulled off again for Musa after another poor display as Nigeria rode on the back of the Burkinabe to a third African title.
Thus, Uche’s exclusion did not come as a surprise when Keshi first omitted the diminutive player from his squad for the March 23 World Cup qualifier against Kenya’s Harambee Stars.
With star man Emenike still injured after the 2013 AFCON tournament, Uche would have been the undisputed first choice for the top striker role against the Kenyans but instead, Keshi decided to recall Obafemi Martins and youngsters Nnamdi Oduamadi and Babatunde Michael to join Nations Cup winners Brown Ideye, Ahmed Musa and Victor Moses upfront.
Now, Keshi has also not deem it fit to include the former Real Zaragoza forward in his squad for the packed midyear games which begins with a crucial reverse fixture against Kenya in Nairobi on June 5, before the team proceeds to Brazil for the Confederations Cup.
Nigerian strikers impressive output in the outgoing season in Europe may also not help Uche’s cause as the fight for a role in the Eagles attack has taken a new dimension. The likes of Everton’s Victor Anichebe, Turkey-based Michael Eneramo and little known Imoh Ezekiel of Standard Liege, who emerged fourth top scorer in Belgium with 14 league goals in the juset-ended season, are also in top consideration for a role upfront by the Eagles technical crew.
But former Eagles defender, Taribo West, says the former Getafe striker only suffered ‘psychological fever’ in South Africa, and therefore should not be pushed aside because of his AFCON display.
The 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games gold medalist said, “I don’t believe Uche’s days are over in the national team. He is still one of our best; in fact, one of the best strikers of our generation.
“But he was affected by what I call a psychology fever at the 2013 AFCON. The fever in a major tournament is different from playing normal games.
“So, what happened to him has to do with psychology; we shouldn’t use the tournament as a yardstick to exclude him from the team. I think he still has a place in the team. He just needs to fight his way back into the squad.”
Although Uche, who joined Villareal from Real Zaragoza in 2011 for €5m, scored 13 goals for The Yellow Submarine this season, but 1994 AFCON winner, Edema Fuludu, believes he might just be on his way out of the national team.
“In football, you can never say it’s over until it’s over. But truth is, Uche didn’t play to his potential in South Africa and if Keshi wants to build a team that will stand the test of time, he doesn’t have to invite players who are not at their best.
“If you keep inviting people who are not performing, the you are going to put the team in jeopardy. As a gaffer, you have to tell your players that, ‘Hey, if you get back to form, I will call you back to the team but if not, you are out of my team,” Fuludu said.
Punch Nigeria
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