OKOCHA VOWS TO KEEP HIS PROMISE

Jay-Jay Okocha said there was no going back on his decision to quit international football after Nigeria bowed out of the African Nations Cup on Tuesday.

The 32-year-old midfielder said he was sticking to his pre-tournament decision to bring an end to his long-standing international career.
'That is it, it's over for me,' Okocha told Reuters after Nigeria's 1-0 semi-final defeat by Ivory Coast. 'There is no going back.'
Okocha, who won his 73rd cap on Tuesday, played just a cameo role at the tournament in Egypt after picking up a thigh injury on the eve of the competition.
The Bolton Wanderers player came on as substitute early in the second half against Ivory Coast but was unable to engineer a comeback.
Okocha, who played at three World Cups and five Nations Cup tournaments, said Nigeria had been outplayed by a tougher Ivorian outfit. 'We just couldn't get in the game. We were very tired.
'I think they (Ivory Coast) deserved to win today, they were a lot better than us. They were more organised. Today our lack of experience showed but we have done well to get this far,' he added.
Okocha missed Nigeria's first four matches at the tournament, first through injury and then losing his playmaking midfield role to talented teenager John Obi Mikel.
He said he was not sure whether he would play in Thursday's third place play-off match in Cairo, which would mark his last international.
Okocha was named as the best player at the last Nations Cup finals in Tunisia and also earned the distinction of scoring the 1,000th goal in the tournament's history.
He made his international debut against the Ivorians in a World Cup qualifier in Abidjan in 1993.