Eagles open camp October 2, players’ list out this week

Nigeria's players celeBrrate after scoring a goal during the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying football match between Nigeria and Cameroon at Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo, southern Nigeria, on September 1, 2017. PIUS UTOMI EKPEI / AFP

Don’t neglect home-based players, Chukwu cautions coaches

The senior national team, Super Eagles will return to camp on October 2 in Uyo to begin preparations for their Russia 2018 World Cup qualifier against Zambia. The match, which could confirm Nigeria’s qualification for the Russia 2018 World Cup, will hold on October 7 at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo.

Super Eagles’ Media Officer, Toyin Ibitoye yesterday revealed that the list of players for the camping will be released by the technical crew, led by Gernot Rohr, this week.

Ibitoye revealed that arrangements were on to provide a conducive environment for the Super Eagles to fly over the Zambians, who need an outright win to stop Nigeria from qualifying for the global football fiesta.

“The Super Eagles players’ list for the World Cup qualifier will be out on Monday or Tuesday. The necessary logistics have been put in place for the camp to open next week Monday. Rohr has said that he would not use sentiments in picking players for the encounter, which means that all the invited players must be ready to fight for their shirts.

“After the game, if we qualified on October 7, arrangements would immediately begin for friendlies against top football nations. The Eagles are poised to beat Zambia and qualify for the World Cup,” he enthused.

Meanwhile, former Super Eagles coach, Christian Chukwu has advised Coach Gernot Rohr to give more home-based players opportunity to fight for shirts in the senior national team.

Speaking on the backdrop of Nigeria’s performance at the just-concluded WAFU Cup, Chukwu said if the players were not appreciated after their heroics in Ghana, they could be disillusioned and may abandon the Nigerian league for obscure foreign clubs.

He noted that the performance of the Nigerian players in the WAFU Cup showed that the local league has quality players that can  compete favorably with their foreign counterparts.

The former Harambee Stars of Kenya coach also urged the Eagles’ managers to keep close tabs on all the players in the WAFU Cup, saying it could become handy if some of the players moved to foreign clubs before next year’s CHAN.

“I am pleading for the boys because Nigeria keeps losing quality players to obscure foreign clubs that are not better than our teams. Some even end up playing for other countries because they are not recognised at home,” he said.