Former Nigeria international goalkepper Emmanuel Babayaro has taken a swipe at Gernot Rohr over his choice of goalkeppers for the upcoming friendly games against Senegal and Burkina Faso.

Rohr selected three goalkeppers in Carl Ikeme, Daniel Akpeyi and Ikechukwu Ezenwa but Babayaro questions the rationale behind their selection.

” I understand Carl Ikeme is the undisputed first choice of the team for now. He truly deserve it, no doubt about that as he is a cultured goalkepper with tremendous abilities”, Babayaro told Owngoalnigeria.com.

” However I have a problem with his choice of back ups. Akpeyi is same age as Ikeme, they are both 30 years old, let us even excuse that, but Ezenwa who is third choice is 28.

” You can’t have three goalkeppers who are almost of same age bracket as first, second and third choice, It’s so normal to have a much younger shot stopper as third choice. Am disappointed Rohr didn’t think about the future in his selection”.

Facts has emerged as to why coach of the Super Eagles Gernot Rohr snubbed players based in China for the upcoming friendly games against Senegal and Burkina Faso.

The three Nigerian players who recently moved to China lead by captain John Obi Mikel, and the duo of Brown Ideye and Odion Ighalo were originally in the list of players called up for the friendly game.

However Mikel set the ball rolling for the other players by requesting to be left out of the game as reported by Owngoalnigeria.com last week. A request which was granted by coach Gernot Rohr.

His excuse was also the same reason why Ighalo was left out, as he also told the manager that he will need time to settle at his Chineses side Changchun Yatai following his move from Watford.

Ideye’s exclusion was also for the same reason as his move was completed few days ago, hence the need for him to settle down properly in his new environment before leaving for national assignment.

However their future with the national team is still under doubt as Rohr is reportedly looking for options in their positions from players based in Europe.

Super Eagles invitee Chidozie Awaziem has received congratulatory message from his Portuguese team FC Porto following his invitation to the senior Nigeria national team.

Awaziem was named in the squad released by coach Gernot Rohr for the upcoming friendly games against Senegal and Burkina Faso in London later this month.

Although it is not the first time he is being invited to the senior national team of Nigeria, Porto however congratulated him with a message to the defender to this time around make sure he makes his debut.

The 20 year old central defender who is also comfortable as a defensive midfielder made 12 appearances for the first team of FC Porto last season, 18 months after his transfer from El-Kanemi Juniors of Jos.

This season he is yet to play for the main team but he has been ever present for the B team who are playing in the second division in Portugal, with over 25 league appearances to his name this season.

Contracted to FC Porto till the summer of 2021, his buyout clause is pegged at €30m by the Portuguese side. A sign of how high he is rated by the upper ends of the club.

Owngoalnigeria.com has in it’s possession the list of Nigeria League players submitted to coach Gernot Rohr for consideration before naming his squad for the friendly tie against Senegal and Burkina Faso.

There has been out cry over the none inclusion of home based players in the Super Eagles squad for the upcoming test games, and our search has now revealed that as many as six were under consideration before the squad was named.

Salihu Abubakar the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the League Management Company (LMC) reportedly gave the list to be passed on to Rohr.

The list was given to one of the scouts (names withheld) of the German coach but of the six players in the list only one, Ikechukwu Ezenwa of Ifeanyi Uba FC was called up by Rohr for the friendly games.
The List:

Mohammed Mohammed (ABS)

Destiny Ashadi (Katsina United)

Chigozirim Metu (ABS)

Sikiru Olatubosun ( MFM FC)

Ikechukwu Ezenwa ( Ifeanyi Uba FC)

Sunday Adetunji ( Abia Warriors)

Porto star Andre Silva beat off a host of Premier League stars to be crowned ‘Ultimate Finisher’ at a Nike event in London.

The Portuguese striker, 21, saw off Marcus Rashford, Alex Iwobi, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Christian Benteke – as well as Euro stars Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mauro Icardi – to win the Championship belt.

The event, at a secret location in the capital, was to mark the release of the new Hypervenom 3 boots.

It was also streamed on Facebook Live, with fans getting to choose which players they preferred.

Premier League legends Ian Wright and Didier Drogba were two of the judges, as were Grime stars AJ Tracey and Santan Dave.

Other players in the Nike stable, including Chelsea star Eden Hazard and Tottenham goal hero Harry Kane, were part of the crowd.

The players went head-to-head, getting five attempts to score goals to impress the judges and watching crowd.

Starting with some basic finishes, the players got more and more elaborate, with volleys, flicks and overhead kicks sometimes going wayward and other times delighting the crowd.

Aubameyang, who is in the middle of a tug of war between Manchester City and Liverpool, and Icardi, who was heavily linked with a move to Arsenal before signing a new deal at Inter, won their opening rounds against Benteke and Oxlade-Chamberlain.

On loan Manchester City Nigerian midfielder Chidiebere Nwakali has voiced out his eagerness to play for the national team of Nigeria.

” As much as I enjoy playing for my club, I want to put same, even much more in playing for my country. God bless Naija”, he posted on twitter.

Nwakali has played for the U-17 and 20 team of Nigeria, and was a part of the U-17 team that won the 2013 World Youth Championship in the UAE, with the likes of Kelechi Iheanacho, Isacc Success and Taiwo Awoniyi among others.

He moved to Manchester City together with Iheanacho, but while Iheanacho has gone ahead to be a main stay in the midfield, Nwakali has had to endure spells away from the club on loan.

Few weeks ago he moved to Sogndal of Norway, where he is expected to spend the rest of the season on loan. His fourth loan spell in three years at the Etihad.

The name Noah Joel Sarenren Bazee is not known to the average football fan in Nigeria, and his inclusion in the list of players for the Super Eagles friendly games against Senegal and Burkina Faso raised so eyebrows.

Owngoalnigeria.com brings to you five facts about the 20 year old German-Nigerian forward who plays for Hannover 96 in the Bundesliga 2.

1. His name Noah Joel Sarenren Bazee is usually spelt with a hyphen before Bazee but the real spelling of his name contains no hyphen.

2. He moved from the U17 of TSV Havelse to the U19 of Hannover 96 in July 2013 as a 16 year old.

3. He signed his first professional contract with Hannover 96 on the 17th of March 2016 at the age of 19 and made his Bundesliga debut on the 8th of April last year against Hertha Berlin, a game they drew 2-2.

4. Last season he made five Bundesliga appearances for Hannover 96 before their relegation to the second tier where he has so far made 10 league appearances as they chase instant promotion back to the Bundesliga.

5. Sarenren Bazee can play on either flanks or in a role behind the main striker, and so far he has excelled in both roles with five assists to his name and three man of the match award from 10 league games.

On loan Watford of England midfielder cum defender Uche Agbo picked up another booking in Granada’s 2-1 win over Alaves in a La-Liga tie decided at the Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes.

Agbo lasted the entire duration of the game but his fine performance was blotted with a yellow card picked up in the 78th minute for foul play.

The caution was his 10th of the season, and his 8th caution in his last 10 games for the La-Liga side who are battling to remain in the top flight league in Spain.

A part of the Super Eagles squad, Agbo is on a season long loan from Watford of England, and his disciplinary record is worst than any other player in the division bar Sporting Gijon Fernando Amorebieta.

Amorebieta has 14 yellow cards this season from 21 games, three more than Agbo’s tally of 10 in 20 La-Liga games.