Wing impresario Moses Simon will be one of the early birds at the Super Eagles’ John Woods Hotel abode as invited begin to stream in for the quickfire double 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Guinea Bissau’s Djurtus.
Simon, who plays for FC Nantes of France, will arrive on Sunday alongside TSG Hoffenheim of Germany defender Kevin Akpoguma. Leicester City of England duo Wilfred Ndidi and Kelechi Iheanacho are also expected in town the same day.
The ambipedal Simon, one of the longest-serving players in the team, is expected to play a key role in the two games that could see the Super Eagles snatch an early ticket to the 34th AFCON finals in Cote d’Ivoire early next year.
Akpoguma, who captained Germany at the FIFA U20 World Cup in New Zealand in 2015 before committing to Nigeria a few years, will be among the pillars at the rear.
With six maximum points from their previous two matches, victory in the top-of-the-table clashes will see the three-time champions soar to 12 points and most probably in an unassailable position. Sierra Leone could earn six points in their clashes with Sao Tome and Principe, but that still keeps them on seven points, and the Super Eagles still have a home game against bottom-of-the-table Sao Tome and Principe on the final matchday of the campaign.
Majority of the remaining 19 invited players are expected in Abuja on Monday.
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COMMENTS
Good one
Still wondering why Chidozie Awaziem is missing on the list. His presence would have helped to shore up the Eagles’ defence with the dip-in form of Semi Ajayi and ageing Kenneth Omeruo. It’ll be heartwarming to see Calvin Bassey continue to evolve his game in the centre half with experienced and ageless Kenneth Omeruo. Interestingly, Kevin Akpoguma has been the most consistent SE defender at club level but really needs to evolve his game in the SE set up with top performance.
Bright-Osayi who was Eagles’ best player in Portugal friendly is sure to be our brightest prospect in the Eagles’ defence from the right back. Sanusi Zaidu on the other hand is expected to tie down the left back position. Bruno Onyemeachi is another option on the left back position.
_Super Eagles? What Super Eagles?_
There are far too many off-the-field distractions swirling around the Super Eagles these days that it seems irresponsible to expect success from their endeavors.
Thankfully, the immediate opponents – Guinea Bissau – aren’t expected to be stubborn customers, hence Peseiro’s Super Eagles should prevail on this occasion.
But, behind the scenes, the team is a shambles. The situation is so bad that should Guinea Bissau defeat Nigeria home and away next week, it will definitely come as no surprise to me.
Looking forward to Super Eagles encounters has lost its glitter, glamour and gloss. Many fans have simply peeled off their followership of this once-fantastic but now-fading national brand.
I have never been one to criticize any list of players released for national assignments – simply on the basis that any national team coach can never satisfy all of the fans all of the time. Our tastes in players and the desire to see the team file out in certain ways are as different as the types of restaurants we choose to dine.
That said, the circumstances surrounding the last list released to face Guinea Bissau sank the Super Eagles franchise to an all time low.
From credible sources, the coach has been arm-twisted to invite 3 players from the domestic scene to alleviate NFF’s financial situation. To make matters worse, 2 of those players were non-league players. This is a shocking and disgraceful development.
Ahmed Musa’s invitation is also been rumoured as an attempt by the coach to wrangle a fresh deal with the NFF as his contract is set to expire soon. So, if true, ulterior motives and the personal interest of the coach informed to invitation of a player that is long past his prime – SHOCKING!
For all intents and purposes, the list has no credible midfield. Alex Iwobi plays more on the flanks these days in club football whilst the other 3 invited midfielders are experiencing intermittent electric outages in their clubs. So you are telling me that in 2023, a Super Eagles list cannot include 3 active, credible and intelligent midfielders? SHAMEFUL! SHAMEFUL!
Whilst no one expects a radical overhaul of the team, injection of raves-of-the-moment Akpom, Orban, Maja, to mention a few, would have delighted the fans and rightly rewarded these players for their recent stellar performances.
But what did we get: recycling of the same old mundane Onuachus and Iheanachos. It begs the question : what has the Super Eagles scouts been doing since Nigeria’s last match in November? If you ask them, they will tell you they have never heard of Maja or Akpom. DISGRACEFUL! DISGRACEFUL!
Fans will never reconnect with the Super Eagles if the handlers continue this way. It’s a joke. It makes a mockery of Peseiro’s ambitions of lifting the Cup of Nations next year.
Anyways, a sense of duty means I will be watching the games against Guinea Bissau. But, something is missing, that excitement is gone; I only hope that results on the pitch won’t go down the drains too.
It’s winter and still very cold in England That’s why these players have flown to Abuja this early