‘New’ Eagles seek to make a point against Ukraine
A number of
circumstances compel Nigeria to put out a relatively newbreed Super Eagles in
an international friendly against Ukraine at the Dnipro Arena on Tuesday night.
Long –time midfield
enforcer Mikel John Obi retired from international football as curtains drew on
the 32nd Africa Cup of Nations finals in Egypt, relinquishing the
captain’s band. Weeks later, Odion Jude Ighalo, top scorer in the Africa Cup
qualifying campaign and at the tournament proper, also put his international
boots on the shelf.
Captain Ahmed Musa
pulled out of the trip to eastern Europe only days from his flight, as an
injury failed to heal as quickly as he expected, and he duly opted to pay more
attention to that. His withdrawal followed those of defenders Kenneth Omeruo
and Tyronne Ebuehi, midfielder Wilfred Ndidi and forward Henry Onyekuru.
Obi, Ighalo, Musa,
Omeruo, Ebuehi and Ndidi were all at the FIFA World Cup finals last year, and
Onyekuru only missed the party because of injury.
Given that six of them
(except Ebuehi who also suffered a non-fortuitous injury) were also at the
Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt earlier in the summer where Nigeria finished
third and with the bronze medals among 24 teams, the squad that will file out
on Tuesday is largely a newbreed.
However, Technical
Adviser Gernot Rohr was not in any way despondent when he addressed the
pre-match press conference on Monday.
“This game is a big
opportunity for us to begin our build-up towards the 2021 AFCON and the 2022
World Cup qualifiers. Some of our key players retired from the team after the
last AFCON in Egypt and some others are not here owing to injuries and other
issues. We have some new and young players here so it is a good opportunity to
see what they can bring to the team. We hope for a good game tomorrow against a
very solid team playing at home.”
Stand-in captain William
Ekong had this to say: “Ukraine is a strong team with a lot of very good
players across Europe. I know a few of those in Italy where I play. This game
is definitely going to be very tough but we will give our best and also make it
very difficult for them. I believe it will be a very good game.”
Italian referee Paolo
Valerie will take charge of proceedings at the 31,000 –capacity arena, with his
compatriots Alessandro Costanzo and Stefano Alassio assisting, while Ukrainian
Vitaliy Romanov will serve as fourth official.
Ukraine, like most
jurisdictions of the former Soviet Union, broke off from the collapsed mother
nation in 1991. Both the Ukraine Football Association and the country’s senior
team came into existence also in 1991.
Nigeria and Ukraine
have never met at senior level, but a group phase clash at the FIFA U20 World
Cup in Poland earlier in the summer ended 1-1. Ukraine eventually won the
championship.
A camp source told thenff.com
that the young guns are however, rearing to go, seeing the situation as an
opportunity to win the heart of Coach Rohr and be considered part of the
mainstream going forward.
Germany –based goalkeeper
Maduka Okoye is in camp to give Francis Uzoho and Ikechukwu Ezenwa a stiff
fight for the number one shirt, while usual suspects Olaoluwa Aina, Chidozie
Awaziem, Leon Balogun, Jamilu Collins and William Ekong will try to ward off
the challenge of Semi Ajayi (listed as defender) and returnee Bryan Idowu at
the rear.
In the middle,
Oghenekaro Etebo and Alex Iwobi should be ahead of returnee Anderson Esiti and new
boy Joseph Aribo. It remains to be seen how Kelechi Iheanacho will fit into the
middle equation.
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