September 05, (THEWILL) – Nigeria’s Super Eagles forward Kelechi Iheanacho, the two-goal hero of the country’s first Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifier against Liberia and his compatriots who play in the UK are not expected to participate in the second qualifier on Tuesday, September 7, in Cape Verde.
As THEWILL reported, this is due to the prevalence of the still raging pandemic in the Archipelago, which resulted in Cape Verde being included in the UK “Red List” of countries that the English Premier League sides forbade their players from traveling to during the international break.
This leaves Gernot Rohr, who vehemently railed against the inconsiderate position of the UK to allow for exceptions, without the services of no fewer than seven first team squad players, which, apart from Iheanacho, include Wilfred Ndidi, Alex Iwobi, Oghenekaro Etebo, William Troost-Ekong, Joe Aribo and Leon Balogun.
In the Matchday squad that beat Liberia at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos on Friday, September 3, six of the seven started and the seventh, Etebo, came in as a substitute in the final moments of the fixture. That immediately points to the level of impact the absence of these UK-based players will have in the team selection and why Rohr was displeased.
Yet, the situation creates the opportunity for the rest of the invited players, who are outside the EPL restrictions, to make a case for themselves and command a regular shirt in the Super Eagles lineup. The squad that Rohr called up included seven others on standby to step in and immediately fill the vacancies created by this bottleneck.
As THEWILL reported, those on standby were Lorient’s Terem Moffi, Henry Onyekuru of Olympiacos, CSKA Moscow’s Chidera Ejuke, Malmö’s Innocent Bonke, Valentine Ozornwafor of Sporting Charleroi, Tyronne Ebuehi of Venezia FC and Bologna’s Kingsley Michael.
Apart from these players, the absence of Kelechi Iheanacho in the forward position may be the opportunity for Ahmed Musa to start and rediscover his scoring boots in the squad once again in what will be his 100th appearance for the national side, making him one of Nigeria’s centurions.
Otherwise, Rohr might take the route of playing the record striker from last season in the Belgian top flight, Racing Genk’s Paul Onuachu, to allow the forward his first start in the Green and White of the Super Eagles.
The opportunity also exists for Napoli finisher Victor Osimhen to find his scoring form again after that African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying match against Sierra Leone in November last year that left him on the sidelines with a shoulder injury.
These and other options can be explored by the German coach to see the Super Eagles maintain their leadership of Group C, atop of which they currently sit on three points after that initial victory over Lone Star of Liberia on Friday. The other teams in the group, the Central Africa Republic (CAR) and Cape Verde played out a 1-1 stalemate for a point apiece. Liberia is at rock bottom.
For Tuesday’s World Cup qualifier clash at the Adérito Sena Municipal Stadium, there will be no fans in the stands in strict adherence to FIFA’s COVID-19 protocols. Based on a communication received from the Confederation of African Football (CAF), the Cape Verdean Football Federation (FCF) announced this no-fan directive, as the country continues to witness daily infection spread.
It is the first ever meeting between the two African countries in a competitive football match and one in which the Cape Verdeans will be desirous to finish with all three points on offer to keep their early momentum going. In their first and only meeting with Nigeria, a friendly game in 2013, the Blue Sharks successfully held the Super Eagles to a goalless draw.
Rohr will be asking more from the squad at his disposal on Tuesday to maintain leadership of Group C, to finish the international break on a perfect note and to stave off criticisms from a section of football fans who were dissatisfied with the team’s performance against Liberia despite the 2-0 win.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
