German Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt have target the signing of Nigeria international midfielder Raphael Onyedika in the January transfer window from Belgium side Club Brugge, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Onyedika was widely expected to leave the Belgium outfit in the summer transfer window, but clubs failed to meet the €30 million price tag shifting his potential exit to January.

Reports in Germany said Eintracht Frankfurt who have been a longtime admirer of the 24 year old have put his name down, as one of the players they will be pushing to sign in the January transfer window.

They expect Club Brugge to be a little bit flexible on their demands than they were in the summer, especially as the player is keen on moving to a top league, and more importantly a team in the UEFA champions league.

Eintracht Frankfurt will test the water with a bid towards the end of the year in the hope of sealing an agreement, before the midfielder who is currently injured departs for the Africa Cup of Nations tournament with Nigeria.

Daniel Martins

Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle will include defender Semi Ajayi in his squad for the world cup qualifiers playoff next month, despite the fact that he is currently suspended after picking up two yellow cards, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Ajayi picked up his second booking in the series in the 4-0 win over Benin Republic, effectively ruling him out of next month qualifiers playoff game against Gabon in Morocco. The winner of the game will face either Cameroon or Congo Dr who will be up against each other in the second game of the mini tournament.

The winner will get a ticket to represent Africa at the inter continental playoff in March next year against teams from selected region, and the top two teams from the tournament will get a ticket to the 2026 World Cup.

” Ajayi is only suspended for one game. So he will be available for the final game if as expected we progress. It makes sense to have him in the team because he is one of the best defenders we have any the moment”, a team source told OwnGoalNigeria.com.

He also said they hope to have a couple of players back for the game in November particularly in defence, but ruled out any possible return for Felix Agu or Ola Aina.

” Aina and Agu are definitely out of the games in November, but we hope to have Bright Osayi-Samuel back and hopefully three others in Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, Nathan Tella and Raphael Onyedika”, he stated.

Head coach of the senior national team of Benin Republic Gernot Rohr says his team has no shame losing 4-0 to the senior national team of Nigeria in their final game in the world cup qualifiers, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Rohr’s team went into the final round of games in the world cup qualifiers top of the group and needed to avoid defeat to stand a chance of making it to the world cup, but were hammered 4-0 by Nigeria.

His team were undone by a hattrick from Victor Osimhen and a late goal by Frank Onyeka. A result which ranks as their heaviest since the German was appointed as their coach for around a period of two years.

The result brought a whole lot of criticism back home but the coach replied that his team is still not at the level of the Nigerian teams, insisting that the defeat isn’t a thing of shame as they picked up valuable lessons from it.

” We are not at the level of Super Eagles yet. They have top players around top leagues in Europe, which is not the case with us at the moment. We have players without clubs in our teams and in lower divisions. Some are even without a club”, the coach said.

The wins the senior national team of Nigeria got over Lesotho and Benin Republic in the world cup qualifiers has shot them up in the latest ranking done by world football governing body FIFA, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Ranked 45th in the world last month, they move up to 41st in the world and more importantly broke into the top five highest ranked African country, largely due to the 2-1 win over Lesotho and the 4-0 win over Benin Republic.

It also puts them in a good position heading into the intercontinental playoff that is if they are able to pick the sole ticket from the Africa zone, which will take place in Morocco next month.

Super Eagles will be up against Gabon in one of the semi final with Cameroon taking on Congo Dr in the other semi final. The winner of the mini tournament will represent Africa at the playoff in March next year, where the top two teams will pick a ticket to the world cup.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The coach of Zimbabwe Michael Nees says the Super Eagles of Nigeria has the best attack in the continent alongside Egypt heading into the Africa Cup of Nations, OwnGoalNigeria.com reacts.

Nees made this known after the end of the world cup qualifiers, where his team finished bottom of their group which had South Africa as group winners, Nigeria in second position, Benin Republic in third, Lesotho in 4th and Rwanda finishing as 5th.

According to the coach his team have already set their sights on the Africa Cup which will be hosted by Morocco in December. Nees said while he is expecting a very exciting tournament he feels Nigeria and Egypt will go to the tournament as the best in attack.

“Egypt with Nigeria the best attacking team in Africa, Angola a very dangerous team”, the coach said in a statement which will serve as a timely warning to the Gabon national team ahead of the world cup qualifiers playoff next month.

Gabon will battle with Super Eagles for a spot in the final of the Africa zone, with Cameroon taking on Congo Dr in the other semi final for a spot in the intercontinental playoff.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle will have the services of three key players for the world cup qualifiers playoff next month, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Injury to a host of players ensured that the team went into the final two games of the world cup qualifiers without the services of some of the players the coach would have loved to have in his team.

Even after submitting his list, he was forced to alter it with the duo of Zaidu Sanusi and Uche Chrisantus coming in as late replacements for Felix Agu and Cyriel Dessers, who were both forced out due to injury.

Despite their absence the team picked up a 2-1 win over Lesotho, before getting a much needed 4-0 win over Benin Republic to book a spot in the playoff, where they will take on Gabon in the semi final next month in Morocco.

For the games of the mini tournament, Chelle will have the compliment of four players who missed the last round of games, as they will be fit by then.

We can exclusively reveal that Bayer Leverkusen Nathan Tella is expected back in the team after missing out on the last selection due to injury. He is now back in full training and expected to be fit and ready for the playoff.

Club Brugge midfielder Raphael Onyedika is also expected to be available for selection, just like the duo of Fisayo Dele-Bashiru of Lazio and Bright Osayi-Samuel of English Championship side Birmingham City.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

New Nigeria international defender Benjamin Fredrick says captain of the team William Troost-Ekong helped in getting him prepared for playing for the Super Eagles in the world cup qualifiers, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Fredrick broke into the team during the Unity Cup tournament in England, when he was called as a replacement for Ahmed Musa who left the camp of the team before the final match against Jamaica.

He distinguished himself in the game, and kept his spot in the team for the friendly game against Russia where he was an unused substitute with Ekong returning and taking his spot.

However in the world cup qualifiers game against Rwanda, head coach Eric Chelle took a shocking decision to start the 20 year old, and has since kept him in his team for all of the four games played since then.

” When I came in it was my mentor Moses Simon who told me to enjoy the moment because I have earned the right to be in the team. I won’t lie when it was mentioned that I will be starting against Rwanda I was tensed until Ekong walked up to me and said you can do it”, Fredrick reveled in an exclusive chat.

” After the game he had nothing but nice words for me and since then always makes sure he checks up on me regularly. He is a wonderful person to have as captain of the team”.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

World football governing body has communicated to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) that central defender Semi Ajayi won’t be available for the Super Eagles first play off game against Gabon , OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Ajayi was booked in the 4-0 win over Benin Republic on Tuesday. His second of the series which automatically triggered a one game suspension which he will serve in the game against Gabon next month.

He will however be free for the final game of the world cup qualifiers playoff if Nigeria makes it. For that reason he is expected to be a part of the team for the tournament in Morocco.

Meanwhile FIFA has also written to the FA of Gabon confirming that their top striker Pierre Emerick Aubameyang will be free to play against Nigeria, as he served his suspension in their final game against Burundi.

Aubameyang scored all four goals in their penultimate game against Gambia before he was sent off for a second yellow card offence. Unlike direct red cards which carries a two match ban. A double yellow will only lead to a one match suspension, which he already served.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The main reason why Crystal Palace new signing Uche Chrisantus didn’t play a single game for the senior national team of Nigeria in the recently concluded international window has been made known to OwnGoalNigeria.com.

Chrisantus was handed a late call up as a replacement for Cyriel Dessers after it was confirmed that the Panathinaikos striker won’t be available through injury for the games against Lesotho and Benin Republic respectively.

In both games, the 22 year old was an unused substitute unlike Zaidu Sanusi who was also drafted in as a replacement for the injured Felix Agu but ended playing in both games, including a start in the crucial home game against Benin Republic.

” For Uche it’s a case of not knowing what to do with him, because while you can’t doubt his talents it’s hard to pick a role for him in the team based on the options ahead of him in the roles he can play”, a team source revealed.

” He can play in the midfield and also in attack, and you can’t say he is a better option than Wilfred Ndidi, Alex Iwobi, Frank Onyeka, Alhassan Yusuf and Raphael Onyedika when he is available. In attack we have Victor Osimhen, Jerome Akor, Tolu Arokodare and Terem Moffi. You will agree that he doesn’t have a spot now”, he concluded.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Nigeria international forward Moses Simon says some of the comments made by players of the senior national team of Benin Republic played a huge role in motivating them to win 4-0 on Tuesday, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Super Eagles needed to score four times to book their spot in the world cup qualifiers playoff, and they did just that. It also brought an end to the quest of Benin Republic qualifying for the tournament for the first time in their history.

Simon who picked up two assists, including the crucial one for the fourth goal in the last minute of time added on, said they were fired up for the game after reading some comments from players of Benin Republic.

” The words hurts to be honest because they were to me very disrespectful and we had to settle it on the pitch. Our coach ( Eric Chelle) showed us their comments before the game and it really got us motivated to teach them a lesson”, Simon revealed.

He however said nothing is done yet with the team yet to qualify for the 2026 world cup. ” We have done nothing at this stage. Since the whole idea of the qualifiers is to make it to the world cup. We have a final to play against Gabon. It’s one game at a time”, Simon said.