West Ham striker Carlton Cole has been named in a 20-man squad by Nigeria to face South Africa in a joint 2010 World Cup and African Nations Cup qualifier early next month.

Festus Onigbinde is clearly a man who enjoys a challenge. Not only was he given just three months to mould Nigeria into a team capable of challenging at the World Cup finals, but he inherits a side renowned for harbouring huge egos amid the undoubted talent.

Kanu is the man to drag Nigerian football away from the self-destruct button threatening to detonate their chances of success in this summer’s Far East football extravaganza.