Former Nigeria international defender Mobi Oparaku says Super Eagles new boy Uche Chrisantus could be the difference for the Super Eagles against Rwanda tomorrow at the Godswill Akpabio stadium in Uyo, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Chrisantus who recently moved to English Premier League side Crystal Palace from Spanish side Getafe on transfer deadline day, will be pushing for his first competitive appearance in the colours of Nigeria, after making his debut in the Unity Cup final match win over Jamaica and also the friendly game against Russia.

Speaking ahead of the world cup qualifiers, where the Super Eagles need maximum points from the two upcoming games against Rwanda and South Africa respectively, Oparaku says he is looking forward to both games with optimism and sees the new Crystal Palace man as the man to make the difference starting tomorrow against Rwanda.

” You see him play and immediately know that he will fit into any team with his all round playing style. He can do almost everything above 80%. I think he could be the game changer against Rwanda tomorrow if he plays to his expected levels”, he told OwnGoalNigeria.com.

Oparaku however warned the Super Eagles not to panic, even if South Africa go nine points clear later today with a win against Lesotho as expected by many.

” It doesn’t matter what South Africa plays today. All the Super Eagles should do is focus on the game on Tuesday after beating Rwanda in Uyo. Even if South Africa wins today, I expect them to be confident of beating them at their backyard”, he concluded.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Head coach of the senior national team of South Africa Hugo Broos will go into the games in the world cup qualifiers without the compliment of his preferred back four in defence, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

South Africa go into the world cup qualifiers leading their group and needing two wins to seal a spot at the tournament, they will play Rwanda tomorrow before a game against Nigeria on Tuesday.

The Belgian will go into the game without the core of the experienced players that helped his team get to the semi final of the AFCON, and have been part of their good run in the world cup qualifiers so far

Mothobi Mvala, Grant Kekana, Siyanda Xulu and Nkosinathi Sibisi are his go to quartet in defence but none of them will take part in both games, in some cases due to injury, fitness concerns or not getting game time at their various clubs.

In their absence, Broos will have to rely on defenders who are not tested at this level, with the duo of Siyabonga Ngezana and Aubrey Modiba the only ones with more than five caps in his list of eight defenders for both games.

The quartet of Mbekezeli Mbokazi, Thabo Moloisane, Khulumani Ndamane and the rest are all new to international football, and will find it hard to keep up with experienced forwards on the continent, particularly against Nigeria who are blessed with some of the best strikers in the continent in Victor Osimhen, Moses Simon, Ademola Lookman, Tolu Arokodare and Cyriel Dessers among others.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Troubled Atalanta forward Ademola Lookman is not expected to be in the starting lineup for the senior national team of Nigeria against Rwanda on Saturday in the world cup qualifiers, OwnGoalNigeria.com understands.

Lookman hasn’t been involved in any pre season or league game for Atalanta, due to a transfer standoff when he went on strike to push a move to Inter Milan. The move didn’t work and he is now expected back at his club after the international break.

He was however included in the squad by head coach Eric Chelle, but the Malian has no intention of having him play from the start on Saturday despite assurances from the 27 year old that he is fit enough.

Chelle feels he will be match rusty and will need at least three competitive session to be able to play some part off the bench, and also be in a good position to start the very important game away to South Africa on the 9th of September.

For now Cyriel Dessers who impressed Chelle at the Unity Cup is the favorite to pair Victor Osimhen in attack, although there is also the probability of Uche Chrisantus who recently joined Crystal Palace getting a role in attack.

Uche who is predominantly a midfielder has played mainly as a striker for Getafe in the Spanish top division, and Chelle is confident of his ability to play in the same role for the Super Eagles.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

A total of 15 players trained with the senior national team of Nigeria in their first training session in the build up to Saturday’s world cup qualifiers game against Rwanda, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Head coach of the team Eric Chelle had 15 players in attendance including two of the three invited goalkeepers, who were put through their paces by the goalkeeper ‘s trainer for around twenty minutes.

They later joined the rest of the outfield players who were 13 and were made to go through the drills of the traditional warm up , before getting engaged in a drill supervised by Chelle and his assistants.

Focus was on using the ball in tight spaces, a drill which lasted for around 40 minutes before a mini shooting practice against the goalkeepers. The essence was to help the players shake off the stress of flying down for the game.

Tuesday will be a more detailed, tactical and technical session and it will only be opened to the media for the first ten minutes.

Below were the list of players who took part.

EAGLES IN Training:

Alex Iwobi

Calvin Bassey

Fisayo Dele-Bashiru

Ola Aina

Bright Osayi-Samuel

Moses Simon

Chidozie Awaziem

Adebayo Adeleye

Benjamin Fredericks

William Troost-Ekong

Amas Obasogie

Felix Agu

Bruno Onyemaechi

Wilfred Ndidi

Frank Onyeka

Head coach of South Africa Hugo Broos says his team will be clear of others in their world cup qualifiers group if they beat Lesotho on Friday in their next game, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Broos said a win in the game against Lesotho, on a weekend where second place Rwanda will be up against Nigeria, will see his team seize the initiative in the group, with their current five points lead over the team in second and six over Nigeria seen by many as the main threat.

“If we win on Friday, the job is done. It is up to our opponents to stop us. We put pressure on them. We have to make sure we win”, Broos said.

He feels a win for his team on Friday will put Nigeria under pressure to win on Saturday against Rwanda who can’t afford to lose as well in Uyo, where the Super Eagles are yet to win a game in the series.

“If we win on Friday then they have to win on Saturday, and Rwanda cannot afford to lose if they are to keep their second position. It would be an ideal scenario. But we have to win.”

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Former Nigeria international goalkeeper Emmanuel Babayaro says the Super Eagles will have to be wary of the goalkeeping department heading into the world cup qualifiers games against Rwanda and South Africa respectively.

Head coach of the team Eric Chelle called up three goalkeepers for both games in Stanley Nwabali, Amas Obasogie and Adebayo Adeleye. Nwabali is largely expected to keep his spot as the first choice of the team.

Babayaro’s worry is that the options available to the coach in the event that something happens to Nwabali doesn’t inspire confidence owing to their lack of game time at club level, since the start of the season.

” It’s normal for you to look at the options in goal, because it’s a specialist area and when you do that it’s not looking healthy for us”, Babayaro told OwnGoalNigeria.com in an exclusive chat.

” Only Nwabali is active judging by a post by one of your colleagues. The league in Tanzania hasn’t started yet and the guy (Adebayo) is yet to play a game this season in Greece. It should be a concern to the coaches”.

Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle says he is open to the idea of having a change of style ahead of the upcoming world cup qualifiers games against Rwanda and South Africa respectively, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Chelle has been playing a diamond formation since taking over as coach of the senior national team of Nigeria, and has so far picked up three wins and two draws with a win and a loss from the two competitive games in the world cup qualifiers.

A 2-0 win away to Rwanda in Kigali kick-started his tenure as coach, but a late equaliser by Zimbabwe denied him the opportunity of getting a first win at home with the game ending in a 1-1 draw.

On Saturday he will be aiming for a win to keep the gap narrowed or the same before they take on the group leaders South Africa at their home ground. Chelle is open to playing a different formation other than the diamond formation.

” We ( Super Eagles) can play in different ways to win games not just the diamond formation. Even though it helps us to play to the strength of our team with the forward players we have. It’s still not the only way we can play”, the coach said.

” The games against Rwanda and South Africa will be one for us to prepare with the best tactics with the players available to us for the games. The condition and also how the games goes will also be a factor”, he concluded.

Former Nigeria international Efe Ambrose says the senior national team of Nigeria will defeat South Africa at their home ground if they are able to get a comprehensive win against Rwanda on Saturday in Uyo , OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Nigeria will go into the game looking for their first win at home in the qualifiers after drawing all of their three games at the same venue, the last of which was the 1-1 draw against Zimbabwe after conceding late in the game.

Speaking ahead of the game, Ambrose who won the 2013 AFCON with the Super Eagles said it is a must win for Nigeria owing to the fact that they need to either narrow or keep the point gap with the leaders South Africa, before their clash on the 9th in South Africa.

” The most important game is the one on Saturday against Rwanda. They need to win that because it will keep the point gap the way it is or maybe narrowed. It is the most important game for now because a draw or a defeat will end their chances”, he told OwnGoalNigeria.com.

” If they beat Rwanda believe me they will beat South Africa away from home. It’s a natural thing when you win you gain momentum, and also because player for player we are better than South Africa”.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Coach of South Africa Hugo Broos says he is having the most difficult preparation ahead of the upcoming world cup qualifiers games against Lesotho and Nigeria respectively, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Broos who was unable to name some important players in his team for the games due to injuries and fitness issues has also lost two players to injury ahead of the games.

Two players in Orlando Pirates star Patrick Maswanganyi and Hannover 96 defender Ime Okon were the latest to withdraw from the game due to injury, forcing the coach to replace them with Orlando Pirates’s Sipho Mbule and Stellenbosch FC’s Thabo Moloisane have since replaced the duo.

“This is one of the most difficult preparations I’ve had since I’ve been the coach of Bafana Bafana. We have many injuries to important players,” Broos lamented ahead of Friday’s game but he remain confident that they will get a good result on Friday to put the pressure on Nigeria.

“But we don’t have to focus on that; this is out of our power. We just must focus on the game because it’s a must-win match, and we cannot afford to lose points against Lesotho.

“The biggest mistake we can ever make is to underestimate our opponents. They are our neighbours, and we understand how challenging it can be to face tricky neighbours. We must be careful and keep the pressure on Nigeria”.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

A total of 12 players are currently in the camp of the senior national team of Nigeria ahead of their upcoming world cup qualifiers games against Rwanda and South Africa respectively, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

The camp of the Super Eagles opened yesterday in Uyo for the first assignment on Saturday against Rwanda, and head coach Eric Chelle has so far welcomed 12 players with more expected later today ahead of their first training session.

Below is the list of the 12 players who are in the camp led by captain William Troost Ekong who arrived yesterday alongside the trio of Amas Obasogie, Bruno Onyemaechi and Felix Agu.

Nine more players have arrived Akwa Ibom for WCQ. Latest arrivals are:

Players in Camp:

William Troost Ekong

Bruno Onyemaechi

Felix Agu

Amas Obasogie

Alex Iwobi

Calvin Bassey

Fisayo Dele-Bashiru

Ola Aina

Bright Osayi-Samuel

Moses Simon

Chidozie Awaziem

Adebayo Adeleye

Benjamin Fredericks