Head coach of the Nigeria Super Eagles Gernot Rohr has revealed the reason why Nigeria’s captain John Mikel Obi was replced in Nigeria’s final AFCON 2017 qualifiers against Tanzania, which Nigeria won 1-0.

The German took off the Chelsea ace midway through the game, and few minutes before Nigeria scored despite the good effect the Chelsea man was having on the game in favour of Nigeria.

Rohr said, Mikel was pulled out for Wilfred Ndidi as he isn’t full fit, following exhaustion from the Olympics and he only just recently returned back to training.

” Mikel is not injured, he is fine, our taking him off wasn’t for technical or tactical reasons, we needed to give him a break” He told Owngoalnigeria.com

” It was agreed before the game, that he will play for an hour, he cut short his break to play in this tie, so we have to protect him as well, he only had two sessions before today’s game.

” He wasn’t tired and he didn’t asked to be substituted but we have to respect the fact that he isn’t fully fit and give him a breather”.

Out of favour Super Eagles forward Aaron Samuel has been sent back to Chinese side Guangzhou R&F by CSKA Moscow, Owngoalnigeria.com understands.

Samuel joined the Russian giants in February on a loan deal from the Chinese side and after a slow start to life in Russia, he recovered and found the back of the net three times in all competition.

His form lead to talks about a permanent deal for the forward, as it was part of the provisions embedded in his loan deal when he joined the club.

A three year deal was reportedly on the cards, with the forward admitting he would want to remain at the club, but that dream went up in smoke when he picked up a nasty knee injury in a collision with Axel Witsel when they took on Zenit St. Petersburg.

Still they were reports that the Russian side still want the Nigerian, but that appears not to be the case and he is now set for a return back to his parent owners Guangzhou R&F.

The 22 year old was not among the players the Russian side registered for their campaign this season after the close of the transfer winder.

The coach of the Super Eagles of Nigeria Gernot Rohr has praised the performance of Mainz 05 defender Leon Balogun in Nigeria’s 1-0 win over Tanzania, but insist his performance didn’t come to him as a surprise.

For most of his career, Balogun has played as a full back, but yesterday as reported by Owngoalnigeria.com, weeks after Gernot Rohr took over, he was played from the central of defence.

Balogun was by far one of the most impressive Nigerian player on the pitch, but the German coach says, he was expecting even more from him, as he is well aware of his quality.

” Leon did very well, but I know he could do that and even more, so I wasn’t in anyway surprised, but the player who made me proud was Musa Mohammed” He told Owngoalnigeria.com.

” He didn’t play like he was making his competitive debut, to me he was one of the many positive I saw in the game, he did very well and am happy for him”.

The match winner for Nigeria in their AFCON 2017 qualifiers game against Tanzania Kelechi Iheanacho says, the words of manager Pep Guardiola played a role in his stunning strike that sealed victory for Nigeria.

Iheanacho provided a moment of brilliance in the 78th minute, picking up a pass at the edge of the Tanzania box before he let loose an unstoppable drive that for the first time in the game beat the impressive Aishi Manula in goal for Tanzania.

The 19 year old reckoned the words of his manager, occurred to him when Manula was proving to be a hard nut to crack, with saves that kept the game at 0-0.

” I must say the words of Pep Guardiola, my manager occured to me with the scores at 0-0, thanks to the goalkepper of Tanzania. I remember his advice that if a goalkepper is acting special, you need something special, so you have to act special” He said to Owngoalnigeria.com.

” The goalkepper on the day was special and am glad, my strike which most people say it’s special was good enough to beat him”.

When news broke out that Tanzania will be without their first choice goalkepper Deogratius Munishi for the AFCON 2017 qualifiers dead rubber clash against Nigeria, most Nigerians thought the Super Eagles shouldn’t have problems scoring against the Taifa Stars without their first choice shot stopper.

It wasn’t to be the case as a thunderous wonder strike from Kelechi Iheanacho was the only effort from Nigeria that was able to beat the stand in goalkepper of Tanzania, as the Eagles laboured to a 1-0 win over the Taifa Stars.

The man who kept the score line as low as it was, is the same man most thought will be the weakest link in the team goalkepper Aishi Manula, who plays for Tanzanian giants Azam FC.

Manula was making his debut and the shot stopper stood between Nigeria and a goal until the 78th minute, when Iheanacho long range effort left him with no chance.

His performances have not gone unnoticed as Wolverhampton Wanderers and Super Eagles first choice goalkepper has hailed his commanding performance between the sticks for Tanzania.

Ikeme in his post match post on his social media handle praised the effort of the debutant and credited him as the reason why the game ended 1-0.

” Also a special mention to the Tanzania goalkepper on his debut!! Some great stops and could have been a bigger defeat but for his save” He rounded up with an icon clapping for the Azam shot stopper.

Manchester City forward Kelechi Iheanacho has revealed manager of the Super Eagles of Nigeria Gernor Rohr, told them to try shooting from range against Tanzania.

Iheanacho effort in the second half was all Nigeria needed 12 minutes from full time to beat the hard fighting Taifa stars 1-0.

Speaking after the game, the 19 year old said during the half time interval with scores at 0-0, after so many missed chances from the Super Eagles, Rohr charged them to try their luck from far.

” During the interval, the manager was pleased with us for creating lots of chances but demanded more from us, as according to him, we need to work the goalkepper”. He said.

” Particularly, he asked us to shoot whenever we have clear sight at goal, and the moment, I hit it, I knew it was in”.

The new coach of the Super Eagles Gernot Rohr won his first competitive game as coach of the Nigeria national team courtesy of a slim 1-0 win over Tanzania.

Owngoalnigeria.com in it’s traditional style rates the Eagles players on parade in the dead rubber AFCON 2017 qualifiers
tie, which took place at the Nest of Champions in Uyo.

Carl Ikeme: Didn’t have much to do like the reverse tie in Tanzania. Got lucky in the first half though, could easily have given away a penalty otherwise had little or nothing to do all through the game….7/10

Musa Mohammed: Full of energy, never tired of running, strong in tackles and very much adept in turning defence into attack, had a game to be proud off….7/10

Elderson Echiejile: Clearly targeted by the Tanzanians and struggled to cope with the pace and tricks of his man, no thanks to the little coverage he got from Victor Moses. Had a better second half….6.5/10

Leon Balogun: Very much at home as a central defender, made one tackle that got the crowd cheering, very calm in possession and oozed class all through. Top man….8.5/10

William Troost Ekong: Didn’t start the game very well but recovered in the second half, held his own alongside Balogun in central defence but need to work on his reading of the game….7.5/10

Ogenyi Onazi: Was surprisingly very discipline in his role in front of the back four, sat deep and allowed the men ahead of him do the runnings, wasn’t trying to do the extraordinary like before, kept it simple and deserve a very good rating….7.5/10

Mikel Obi: The captain did just what is expected of him, threatened to open the scoring for Nigeria but was stopped by some brilliant goalkeeping. Yanked off by Gernot Rohr as he isn’t fully fit yet after the exhaustion of the Olympics….8/10

Victor Moses: Lively, daring and full of energy. Wasted the best of chances to give Nigeria the lead in the first half had a subdued second half. Expectedly replaced after the break, need to add goals to his game….6/10

Ahmed Musa: Didn’t quite get the chance to run behind the defence of the Tanzanians until the second half. Looked threatening with lightening pace but didn’t effect the game that much….6.5/10

Kelechi Iheanacho: Man of the Match, cracking effort for the lone goal of the game, lively all through, willing to get involved and not scared of shooting and got duly rewarded with the lone goal of the game. A star in the team even though he is just 19….9/10

Odion Ighalo: Had a game to forget, once again failed to deliver in the green white green shirt, time is running out on the Watford man, didn’t play to his potential….5.5/10

Substitutes:

Wilfred Ndidi: Replaced the captain and brought about an injection of pace with Onazi moving upfront, he was quick in releasing the ball to the front men, a substitute par excellence….6.5/10

Brown Ideye: Had lots of touched despite his introduction after the half hour mark, made his presence felt with great hold up play and flicks, was full of confidence, should have started the game, he clearly showed it….6.5/10

Moses Simon: Never shy to take on defenders, did his trademark runs at defenders but had little time to command a better rating than….5.5/10

Alex Iwobi’s name was missing from the list of players manager Arsene Wenger submitted to UEFA for the group stages of the Champions League.

The fact that his name isn’t on the list has caused arguments among fans of Arsenal, as to the reason why the talented Nigerian teen was excluded from the list.

However Owngoalnigeria.com understands that he is on the B list with Hector Bellerin. To clarify what that is, here’s an explanation.

“A player may be registered on List B if he is born on, or after, 1 January 1995 and has been eligible to play for the club concerned for any uninterrupted period of two years since his 15th birthday (players aged 16 may be registered if they have been registered with the club for the previous two years). Clubs are entitled to register an unlimited number of players on List B during the season, but the list must be submitted by no later than 24:00CET the day before a match.

Former Arsenal fan favourite Kanu Nwankwo sparked a debate about his age, after the 40 year old showed age is nothing but a number with a hattrick against a team of former AC Milan players.

The Nigerian caused a scene at the start of the game when he stayed on the pitch at the start not knowing he was on the bench for a team of Arsenal Legends, made up of former stars.

However he rolled back the years to score three times against former AC Milan safe hands Dida, which according to Bob Wilson triggered a debate about his age.

According to former Arsenal player Bob Wilson who was on the bench for Arsenal Legend in the 4-2 win, Kanu’s real age has long been an issue between his teammates and same was rekindled today.

” We never used to be sure how old Kanu was. There’s a joke going on around the bench saying he’s 65 and others saying he is 28″ He said.

Putting all of those behind, Papillo like Kanu is fondly called said the game was fun since it was for a good cause.

” It”s all about having fun for a good cause. That said, I reckon I could score three goals”.

18 year old Nigerian midfielder Theophilus Awua, who only recently joined Serie A giant Inter-Milan this summer has already started training with the main team.

Signed from Serie B side Spezia primarily to boost the Primavera side, he has been rewarded for his fine performances for the B team the last one month with the chance to train with the first team.

Awua didn’t look out of place according to respected inter milan primavera blog, the Nigerian impressed manager Frank de Boer who twiced called him to have words with him.

The Football Academy Abuja trainee, was high on the priority list of Serie A side Roma before his move to Inter-Milan after a month training with the main team of Serie B side Spezia.

Rated as one of the most talented teen midfielder in Nigeria by former England International John Fashanu, he is on loan to Inter Milan, but a clause for a permanent transfer worth £2m is embedded in his loan deal.