Super Eagles interim coach Austine Eguavoen has revealed that Samuel Chukwueze and Innocent Bonke are big doubts for Tuesday’s crucial 2022 World Cup qualifying playoffs against Ghana.
Eguavoen disclosed this during the pre-match presser on Monday.
Chukwueze and Bonke featured in Friday’s first leg clash which ended goalless but were substituted in the second half.
In the Eagles’ training session on Sunday Chukwueze did not take part and it was reported later that he has a slight groin injury.
And speaking ahead of the game Eguavoen revealed that Bonke also sat out training on Monday as both players are under observation.
He stated that even if the two players don’t recover in time for the game there are good replacements for them.
“Chukwueze and Bonke are under observation the result hasn’t come. Bonke is not participating in training this evening as well because he had a knock he overstretched himself in Kumasi you know he worked very hard in Kumasi and did so well.
“The medical team is still working on them it’s 24 hours before the game we are not going to risk anything. I’m expecting a report from medical team once they get that to me at 9pm tonight we will know if they will be in the pitch or not. But we have enough personnels in the team that can do the job.“
On the biggest task facing the Eagles, the former Nigeria international admitted it is converting every clear chances.
“The biggest question we must answer is to score goals if the opportunity comes. You know in high level match like this if you have the chance you have to take it.
“Ghana played very well, they are not a push over they are a team we respect and they respect us as well. There were no clear cut Chance for Ghana but we came close to scoring. So what we need to do tomorrow every chance we get tomorrow must count so scoring goals is what we are trying to correct.“
And on whether he is under pressure going into the game:”I’m not under any pressure. I’m representing all Nigerian coaches both old and young and we want to collectively be in Qatar.“
By James Agberebi in Abuja
15 Comments
This is no bad news.Chukwueze,Bonke and Iheanacho failed to live up to expectations in kumasi. For Bonke,we can cut him some slack based on limited appearances for SE.Nacho is lazy and chukwueze dormant.It’s about time they are told the bitter truth of how unfit they are to be Eagles.
The lights goes off in abiola staduim sad
Omg is that how Nigerians live or it was deliberate haha
https://youtu.be/O000E-GFgYU
Smfh!!! Where are the so called rich Nigerians pls do something about this embarrassment
What is this one talking about, the time you were given to train has elapse, what were they still doing on the field? They want to wear out the grass the way did to their own stadium abi? they off the light so you people can get out of there, since you don’t have common sense to keep to time.
The truth has been revealed,these useless fetish Ghanaians were planting juju on the pitch.The same way they planted juju on the pitch in Ghana. I wonder why they didn’t beat the hell out of them with iron rods for doing such in our own country. They really had stupid guts. Hopeless bastards that relies on juju to play football.
My advice to you coaches Eguavoen, Amunike and Salish Yusuf is to also get the players to practice penalty kicks just in case it remains scoreless after 90 minutes and Extra time. I pray Nigeria scores goals and wins in regular time, but just in case, get your players to also practice the Art of taken penalty kicks as this is a one off game where anything can happen. Thanks
Thank you my brother me too. Thinking about that possiblity, and please if we draw against Ghana 1-1 does that mean Ghana has won based on away goal?
Yes, Ghana qualify with any form is score draw.
If our boys raised their game and the coach used the right players, I don’t see Ghana scoring us talkless of winning us because they didn’t play any spectacular football on Friday, it was SE that was below par that makes them looks decent
Thank God Chukwueze is out. Lately, he has been playing APC football for awhile for Nigeria.
In 1993, it was a world cup qualifier and the opposition were the Dessert foxes of Algeria in Lagos. The media hype about the Algerian dangerman AbdelHafid Tastfout made us forget the Gangling Rashidi Yekini.
As the match began, at exactly 4 minutes the SE were a goal down albeit from their talisman who lived up to the media hype. Come and see panick on and off the pitch. The Super Eagles will go unto winning the same match 4 foals to one. What joy filled our hearts on that day. Shd Ghana score first(God forbids), we have this match to draw strength from
I see no reasons why the Eagles will not qualify. Best wishes.
Nepa took their lights
I said it, NEPA controlled Nigeria sad
They did this to frustrate us but is ok lol
https://youtu.be/O000E-GFgYU
Sad
What is this one talking about, the time you were given to train has elapse, what were they still doing on the field? They want to wear out the grass the way did to their own stadium abi? they off the light so you people can get out of there, since you don’t have common sense to keep to time. Why did they refuse to leave when they were told to leave? Nonsense
Chukwueze get well soon brotherman. Heaven bless Chukwueze and all injured Super Eagles players.
SE lethargic play made Ghana to look a bit decent on Friday. And this was completely down to Eguavoen’s wayward tactics and poor understanding of your players’ strength and abilities.
For instance, Chukwueze started on the left wing while Moses played the right wing in the 1st 20 mins before the players switched over to their familiar position and incidentally both these 2 players never clicked in that match. How can CEREZO try such a tactic in a very important match as that?
The Bonke-Aribo-Iheanacho midfield combination was another big mistake in that match which handed over the midfield completely to the Black Stars in the 1st half. Even the poorest fan knows that Iheanacho is never a midfielder or a number 10 player yet CEREZO played him for the entire duration of that match and Iheanacho was a minus 1 that day. Bonke too should not have started the game ahead of Etebo or Onyeka but hey “Our Own” felt otherwise and the result was there for us all to see.
Osimhen was completely isolated upfront and he couldn’t make any tactical change to correct that but only settled for a drab goals draw and now the pressure is on SE to ensure an outright win for us to qualify because any form of score draw against Ghana tomorrow means goodbye to Qatar.
However I believe in the boys to come out gun blazing tomorrow to carry the day but Eguavoen tactical savvy is well below par in all the time he has ever coached SE since 2006. He is forever complaining of the strikers not able to score goals but this same team has been scoring goals prior to his takeover.
A draw against these harmless Ghana team was indeed a poor result by all standards
@Selfmade KING/SLAVE, Alias Igbekun Abo the MAD MAN, I no get your time.
Let me know when you are ready to be admitted into psychiatry ward for your Electro-Convulsive Treatment to cure your madness
Dr you rightly replied the mad man from the half plot country !!..that guy really need your help jokes apart!!