Moses Simon and Henry Onyekuru were in superb form in Super Eagles’ penultimate training session ahead of Saturday’s Group D clash against Sudan, reports Completesports.com.
Simon produced a fine performance in Nigeria’s 1-0 win against Egypt on Tuesday and was unlucky not win the man-of-the-match honour.
The Nantes winger also dazzled in training on Thursday as the Super Eagles stepped up preparations for the game against the Falcons of Jediane.
Another winger, Onyekuru also put up a show in training as he bid to earn a starting berth in the encounter.
Onyekuru was an unused substitute in the team’s first game against the Pharaohs of Egypt.
The Olympiacos of Greece star is battling with Samuel Chukwueze and Chidera Ejuke for a starting berth.
The Super Eagles will hold their final training session before the game on Friday (today).
Saturday’s encounter will hold at the Roumde Adija Stadium, Garoua.
By Adeboye Amosu in Garoua
19 Comments
Onyekuru will only earn a place in the dead rubber match against Guinea Bissau no disrespect to Sudan but show get size.
Eguavoun should give chukwueze one more opportunity and if doesn’t take it, onyekwuru or ejuke can take his place,I know he had injury problems but he was still playing well at Villarreal,don’t know why he was so quiet in that match,thank GOD for moses simon
We attacked most times from the left that was why he was quiet
Good healthy competition among players will make them give their best whenever they are called up to play in any match.
I would really like to see those players who are on the bench get their opportunity to play when we qualify for the next round with a game to spare. That will show whether the team has a good bench or not.
Some people were saying you don’t change a winning team. I agree with that but in a competition like this were you have so many games to play and you have to keep your starting players fit and rested, the 3rd group games would be the best time to test others and rest some players.
Personally I would fancy super eagles chances very much if we play our reserves against guinea Bissau. With a team comprising,
UZOHO
TYRONE. NDAH. SEMI. COLLINS
FRANK. NWAKALI
HENRY. IWOBI. EJUKE
SADIQ
WE could still pull a win. What do you all think?
It’s entirely a new team may not pull it against Guinea Bissau.On paper it looks a decent team but in reality may struggle for chemistry.
Winning every game is very important don’t forget FIFA takes notes in its monthly rankings.
Eguavoen may instead field 7 of his first team players and likely bring in 4 reserve ones then a couple more reserve players to come in as substitutes.
I think this way we keep our balance and strength as a team to continue winning as we carry that mental strength to the knockout stages.
Relax it’s one game at a time soccer no be like dat o let’s just keep on encouraging them
I won’t still right off ChuKwueze if were the coach. He was quiet in the last match but can still get his mojo back in subsequent matches
*write*
People In this forum were complaining why is moses simon in super eagles team, what is ekong doing in super eagles and umeuroh a second div player shouldn’t be called up to super eagles,both the two defenders neutralize salah and moses was the sole tormentor to the Egyptian defenders.
@Patrick don’t be too carried away about Ekong. Though he did quite well against Egypt but Umeruo shied-in properly with him. However… I must warn that Ekong still needs improvement in his judgements and decision making… He almost ruined the day with his failed offside trap on Salah which was fluffed… We would have been punished by Salah. May God HELP NIGERIA to soon get Adarabioyo, Olise and Lookman in our ranks… Those guys are real ballers! Michael Olise will easily sit Chukwueze on the bench until he is ready to stop his underwhelming streetfootball moves…
Ekong’s strength lies in the people around him. One thing that really worked in his favour that day was that the team didn’t leave the defensive job just to him and the other guys at the back. Eagles defended as a group and fought dirty to neutralize Sallah. That really enabled him to play with a some level of confidence.
To buttress your point, I was kinda shocked seeing him watch Sallah recieved that ball right in front of him. No form of movement until the Liverpool guy turned to find a way round Okoye. Though, his slight push distabilized the Egyptian a bit, but if Sallah had got his balance, he would have scored that goal.
Why I like Ekong is the way he commands the defence. He’s got that voice and others in that department tend to listen to him. I love his long balls too. They always find the target and they always land in the final third of the opposing team.
On getting Tosin and Olise, I think our performance in this competition will go along way in convincing a good number of them, especially now that the WC is around the corner. FIFA WC is a good bait, and with the possibility that the team may even do well going by their current performance, it will be easy to convince a good number of them except the lost ones like Eze.
how far with your nwakali, or maybe Egu also took bribe from okoye to start ahead of uzoho, ur awoniyi and sadiq nko. and our own made a very early sub at 60mins when our attack was dead, if not Egypt would have regretted playing against us. moses simon, okey, ekong, aribo you call names proof you abi. we are watching, all of you are happy because we play physical football. did south africa play physical football before they eliminate the same egypt in 2019 nations cup in their home ground? the coach know what to do because that is what he is being paid for. i wish the eagles good luck, they should never take any prison.
I was actually expecting u to say something about moses Simon
Nd nwakaki
I don’t think anyone hated Moses Simon like that Jimmy guy….the insults that boy don chop for Jimmy hand too much.
Now he don change mouth….Clown
We have to maintain that first 11 for the next game. It is apparent that our level dropped when we made the substitutions. Ejuke brought in an injection of pace, but wasted at least 2 goalscoring opportunities. He need to be a bit more selfless if he want to be in the first 11. Nwakali was only seen during the last counter attack Ejuke wasted. He initiated the attack very well which was one positive I saw in him going forward. More like a Mikel. Sadiq will still come good in subsequent games. If Ejuke had not been selfish Sadiq could’ve scored against Egypt. Overall the Awoniyi – Iheanacho partnership must continue to flourish. We have some depth in Onyekuru Olayinka Onyeka and the likes. There should be no excuse not to top the group. That will open up an easy passage to the Semis where will we likely face any of Senegal, Mali, Ivory Coast or Algeria or Guinea depending on how they all finish their groups. We have a chance to do really well in this tournament, but we must not take Sudan for granted.
I totally agree @Ayphillydegreat.
You took those words off my mouth.
Consistency is key. We should maintain this positive momentum and improve on it.
Thank you Mr Hush. Coaches have their own philosophies. Under Rohr the players admitted that they were playing to instructions, but Eguavoen gave them the freedom to interpret the positions they play for their club sides in the SuperEagles. I think that’s the magic. Will it last the test of time? I’m not in the best position to predict the future. However, I will enjoy the ride while it continues. I think that’s how Westerhoff made them play in those days. There’s nothing wrong in playing to coaches instructions, but in Nigeria we love to express ourselves to entertain the world. Even without Osimhen and Dennis two players I’m sure will be part of this team going forward we still have enough firepower to challenge for the AFCON.
@Ayphillydegreat
“The game (Vs Egypt) is one of my best in two years,” Moses said at the pre-match conference for the game against Sudan.
“Every coach have their mentality and impact. The previous coach, I play to his instructions. With the new coach, he gave us freedom and allowed us to bring our style of play at club side.”….. Moses Simon. Very profound. It really opened my eyes to why Moses Simon I usually watch in France, is very different to the one that plays for super eagles. Almost a defender for Nigeria instead of the attacking threat he ought to possess. Truly coaches play a huge role in how a team performs.
He was turned to a defender by “caught and join Rohr” hence his potentials weren’t seen on the pitch