The Nigerian national team project pride on the country and they get another chance to show their talents this spring in the upcoming friendlies against Mexico and Ecuador with many looking to the best betting offers for the games. This will be the first time since the end of March that the nation will get to see the national squad after they drew against Ghana who had detrimental consequences.
The double header resulted in not making it to Qatar 2022 despite drawing both games.However, the 1-1 draw at home was enough to see them denied a place in the group stage of the World Cup.
The failure to qualify, the first time since the 2006 World Cup held in Germany, caused outcry in the capital with rioting happening in the stadium and the military had to get involved to try and calm down the proceedings after a heated evening.
Football is a passionate game and is the most popular sport in the country and many Nigerians could not believe that the side had not made the World Cup; especially as they thought they had done enough grabbing a 0-0 draw in the first leg. There were many ugly scenes in the “Jollof Rice” derby which marred the occasion.
However, the new squad have a chance to get over the heartbreak and making their mark on the management staff. With no head coach still in place it might be a difficult job to get these players fully motivated after what happened in the qualifiers but they are playing for the national side, there is no bigger motivation than that.
Who made the team?
This is a time for the national squad to see what some players can do especially with the absence of Napoli striker Victor Osimhen. With strikers such as Odion Ighalo, Kelechi Ihenacho and Paul Onuachu all absent as well, many thought Osimhen would have stepped up and made himself available.
The squad is as follows:
Goalkeepers: Maduka Okoye (Sparta Rotterdam) Adewale Adeyinka (Akwa United) Ojo Olorunleke (Enyimba FC)
Defenders: Olaoluwa Aina (Torino FC) Abdullahi Shehu (AC Omonia, Cyprus) Zaidu Sanusi (FC Porto) William Ekong (Watford)Leon Balogun (Rangers) Isa Ali (Remo Stars) Chidozie Awaziem (Alanyaspor FC) Oluwasemilogo Ajayi (West Bromwich Albion) Calvin Bassey (Rangers) Ibrahim Buhari (Plateau United)
Midfielders: Joseph Ayodele-Aribo (Rangers) Alex Iwobi (Everton) Oghenekaro Etebo (Watford) Chiamaka Madu (Rivers United) Babatunde Afeez Nosiru (Kwara United) Azubuike Okechukwu (Yeni Malatyaspor) Samson Tijani (Red Bull Salzburg) Yusuf (Royal Antwerp FC)
Forwards: Ahmed Musa (Fatih Karagumruk) Moses Simon (FC Nantes) Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal FC) Ademola Lookman (Leicester City) Sadiq Umar (UD Almeria) Emmanuel Dennis (Watford) Cyriel Dessers (Feyenoord FC) Victor Mbaoma (Enyimba FC) Ishaq Rafiu (Rivers United)
What to watch?
There are many things to be proud of as a Nigerian and one of them is the fact that 8 players have been chosen to play for the national side. It shows that the Nigerian league is getting better and more competitive considering the majority of the squad play abroad; in particular Europe.
It is also great to Ahmed Musa back playing for the Super Eagles. Musa has 106 caps and will be hoping to add two more to his name.
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