I will be disappointed if Keshi fails to pick me on his provisional World Cup squad - John Utaka

John Utaka has said he would be disappointed if coach Stephen Keshi failed to pick him on his provisional World Cup squad.

The 32-year-old Utaka is scoring again for Turkish club Sivasspor after a five-week absence caused by a hamstring injury.


He was on the squad to both the 2002 and 2010 World Cups and on the back of his goals for Montpellier in the French Ligue 1, he was among the first strikers to be lined up by coach Stephen Keshi in 2011.

Keshi is expected this week to make public his provisional squad for Brazil 2014.

And Utaka told MTNFootball.com from his base in Turkey: “I will be disappointed if I’m not considered for the World Cup because I’m still playing football and still available to play for my country.

“But if I’m not picked, I will not hold any grudges.”

He further said that with or without him, the Super Eagles will shine in Brazil, even tipping them to go all the way and make history as the first African team to win the World Cup.

“We should reach the semi-final and why not even win the World Cup?

“Nobody gave us a chance when we won the Olympics in 1996, but we beat the likes of Brazil and Argentina to do just that.

“Also, see Ghana at the last World Cup – they were so close to reaching the semi-finals, but for that missed penalty.

“We just have to believe in ourselves and go for it.”