Super Eagles midfielder Christantus Uche was benched for the entire 90 minutes as Crystal Palace lost 2-1 to Strasbourg in Thursday’s Europa Conference League.
The Nigerian international has made two appearance for Palace in the competition.
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Tyrick Mitchell steered Palace into the lead, and Ismaila Sarr nearly added a second when he struck the inside of the post with Strasbourg goalkeeper Mike Penders well out of his area.
Emanuel Emegha equalised for the French club early in the second half as he tapped in at the back post from Diego Moreira’s cross.
However, El Mourabet scored the winning goal in the 77th minute to seal the maximum three points.
Palace are 18th in the league standings with two wins and two losses through four matches in their first full venture into European football.
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Christantus Uche’s decision to move to the English Premier League appears to have wrecked his chances of going to the Afcon for his country.
Speaking of the Super Eagles, Uche was still looking for his identity within the team, where best he fits, where best his attributes can be maximised. He was slightly underwhelming in midfield in the world cup qualifiers as he tried to see where he belongs.
That appears to be the problem confronting him in England as the Crystal Palace coach struggles to bench a support striker or an attacking midfielder for Uche, more so as those players are well settled within the structure of their formation.
Uche sees himself as a quintessential number 10.
Even in his parent club Getafe he is often played out of position as his best contributions in Spain came as a support striker.
I like Uche. Big, bulky and fluid who drives into opposition territory with menace. You have a feeling he is up to something, something ominous for the opposition.
Sadly, he is unlikely to make the Afcon squad. Being a bench warmer in England will erode his self confidence and harm his match readiness.
And we only need players who are ready for the grueling Afcon tasks ahead.