The Super Eagles of Nigeria yesterday had their last training session at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers game against Sierra Leone in Monrovia, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
All 23 players called up by coach of the team Jose Peseiro have been part of the preparation and it includes 19 foreign based players and four players called up from teams in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).
The four players are Victor Sochima of Rivers United, Olorunleke Ojo of Enyimba, Ebube Duru of Rivers United and Divine Nwachukwu of Insurance. All four of them have been mixing it up with their more illustrious teammates from top teams abroad.
Nwachukwu’s invitation can be said to be the shock of them all as the 20 year old was deemed not good enough by the U20 team and the U23 team earlier this year. But a fine performance for Insurance at the NPFL playoff caught the attention of Peseiro, hence a first time call up.
We asked a senior player of the team to give us his assessment of the diminutive midfielder who started off as a striker for the U15 team of Nigeria, rose to the U17 and went to the 2019 World Cup but got limited playing time as Nigeria exited the tournament in the round of 16.
” I think he is talented but this level is a bit too high for him particularly for a game of this importance. I don’t think he is ready for this stage yet but if nutured properly, he will no doubt have a career to be proud of. The talent is there to see especially when he tries some moves. A lot of players from the NPFL have trained with us in the past and showed promises. I hope he makes the step up from here”, he told OwnGoalNigeria.com.
Osas Mahawi
