Some players who were part of the Super Eagles squad for the friendly games against Algeria and Tunisia won’t be part of the squad in November, Owngoalnigeria.com can exclusively reveal.
Coach of the team Gernot Rohr handed debut to six players during the course of the two games with Kevin Akpoguma, Samson Tijjani, Frank Onyeka, Cyriel Dessers, Zaidu Sanusi and Chidera Ejuke.
From the new players invited to the team only Matthew Yakubu didn’t get to play as Rohr was keen on assessing the outfield players more than the goalkeepers.
Owngoalnigeria.com exclusively gathered that as many as five players won’t be part of the squad for the November back to back AFCON 2021 qualifiers against Sierra Leone after failing to impress Rohr.
Paul Onuachu heads the list as he failed to make the most of his late invitation to the squad despite the fact that he was handed a start in the game against Algeria. Rohr was unimpressed with his showing and didn’t consider him for yesterday’s game.
That snub could be extended to the next game with the coach unhappy with the fact that he is yet to adapt his style to the way the team love to play. Same issue the goals has with Dele Alampasu.
Alampasu staged a return to the team and he was immediately handed the role of back up to Maduka Okoye, but after few training sessions he was relegated to third choice with Matthew Yakubu morning ahead of him in the pecking order.
Frank Onyeka is also not spared despite the fact that Wilfred Ndidi won’t be available for the games in November. Semi Ajayi is seen by Rohr as a better fit to the team than Onyeka in the absence of Ndidi.
Another player who is set for a spell in the international wilderness is Mikel Agu after he once again fail to make the most of the chance he was given against Algeria. Samson Tijjani who was likely for the time he was on against Algeria isn’t safe as well.
Tijjani was only called up because he lives in Austria where the games were played although Rohr likes him a lot from his performance at the U17 World Cup. His case is a bit complicated though but he isn’t in the plan for the games in November.
