Hero Anichebe snubs England and turns out for Nigeria

Victor Anichebe, Everton's exciting young striker, turned his back on England yesterday by making his debut for Nigeria Under 23s.

He came on as a substitute and scored as Nigeria became the final team to qualify for the Beijing Olympics by beating South Africa 3-0 in Abuja.

Blackburn striker Benni McCarthy set a record for the South Africa senior team with his 30th international goal as they beat Paraguay 3-0 in a friendly near Pretoria.

But McCarthy's Ewood Park colleague, Roque Santa Cruz, limped off in the first half with an ankle injury.

Chelsea's out-of-favour forward Andriy Shevchenko scored in Ukraine's 2-0 friendly victory over Serbia.

It was his 37th strike for his country in 80 internationals.