From all indication new Stoke City signing Oghenekaro Etebo has earned a spot in the Super Eagles starting line up for tomorrow’s Russia World Cup 2018 game against Croatia in Kaliningrad.
Etebo has pushed vice captain Ogenyi Onazi out of the starting line up with a string of impressive displays in Nigeria alongside the duo of Wilfred Ndidi and Mikel Obi in midfield.
The need to close the Croatian in the middle is another factor that played in his favour as he can also press and he uses the ball better than Onazi, who despite his ability to close down opponents hardly make good use of the ball.
Yesterday’s training further cemented Etebo’s spot in the team ahead of Saturday’s game as he was not just lively in attack, he also aided his team in defending during the course of the session which lasted a little over two hours.
Coach Gernot Rohr will likely make a final decision on who will start against Croatia after today’s training session but Etebo is presently highly favoured to start ahead of the duo of Joel Obi and Onazi.
Samuel Thompson
