The captain of the senior national team of Zimbabwe Marvelous Nakamba says he won’t be available for the team when they take on Benin Republic and Nigeria respectively in the world cup qualifiers, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Despite the fact that he has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury by his English Championship side Luton, he was surprisingly named in the list of players for both games as they go in search of ways to bring life back to their world cup campaign.

Bottom of the group with just two points from 4 games, coach of the team Michael Nees has now accepted that Nakamba won’t be available, and has named a replacement in Richard Hachiro after speaking with the 31 year old.

Nakamba made it clear to Nees that he won’t risk his rehabilitation process to be with the team during the games to motivate them. He however confirmed that he will continue to play for the team in the future.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Cercle Brugge midfield sensation Lawrence Agyekum has accepted a call up from Ghana to play in their upcoming World Cup Qualifiers games against Chad and Madagascar respectively, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Registered as a Ghanaian , he told OwnGoalNigeria.com in an exclusive chat in October 2024 that he is eligible for Nigeria through his mother, and won’t hesitate to jump at the chance of playing for Nigeria if he is called up by coach Austine Eguavoen.

” My father is from Ghana but my mother is Nigerian. I can play for both nations. That’s one part that many people don’t know about me and if the chance to play for Super Eagles comes, I won’t say no”, he revealed.

” I have love for both countries and want to see them do well. Not too good for Ghana in the AFCON qualifiers but they are doing well in the world cup qualifiers. For Nigeria reverse is the case. I follow both closely”, he stated.

With no interest from Nigeria, the coach of Ghana Otto Addo handed him a late call up to his squad as a reward for his fine form that has seen him play in 27 league games, making 23 starts and also five games in the Conference League with one start. He was named as the replacement for the injured Elisha Owusu.

He is on loan to the Belgium side from Austrian outfit RB Salzburg, but he is expected to be signed permanently when the season long loan deal expires in June.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

One time Super Eagles invitee has opened up on the reason why he rejected the option of playing for Nigeria in favour of waiting for his opportunity with France, where he is now a senior international after making the step up from the U23.

Four years ago while still at English Championship side Reading, a young Michael Olise then 19 was called up to the Super Eagles squad for the AFCON qualifiers games against Benin Republic and Lesotho respectively by former coach Gernot Rohr.

Rohr placed him on standby explaining that he has to sort out his documents before he is eligible to play for Nigeria. It later emerged that there was a mix up in communication as Olise hadn’t made a decision on his senior international career.

He moved to Crystal Palace the next season and immediately declared for France, spurning the chance to play for Nigeria where his father hails from or Algeria. A country he qualifies for through his mother.

The Bayern Munich star in a recent interview revealed the reason behind his decision to snub the African nations despite the fact that his first senior national team invitation came from Nigeria.

“I have strong connections with Nigeria, Algeria, France, and England. It’s not something I think about every day-it just feels natural to me”, he explained.

“I carry a piece of each country within me. It has broadened my perspective because these cultures are so distinct. At home, I experienced three cultures thanks to my parents, and outside, I was influenced by England, where I grew up. I never had to force this mix-it was just part of who I am,” he concluded.

Ade Emmanuel

Newcastle United forward William Osula proudly displayed his Nigerian roots with a post in pidgin english on his official handle on social media platform Instagram, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Born to a Danish mother and a Nigerian father, Osula who is a youth international for Denmark is still eligible for Nigeria at senior level, although he admitted in an interview that he is fully committed to Denmark and has no thoughts about playing for any other nation.

In an interview with Tipsbladet in 2022, Osula shared his enthusiasm for representing Denmark, saying, “I feel at home in Denmark. I lived there, was born in Denmark, and raised in Copenhagen. It’s great to represent Denmark, which is a big part of me.”

Osula was an unused substitute as Newcastle United ended their trophy drought with a 2-1 win over Liverpool in the final of the Carabao Cup otherwise called the EFL Cup. He played in three games in the build up to the final.

Despite that he showed of his Nigerian side following Newcastle United triumph in the Carabao Cup yesterday, a game that was played at the iconic Wembley Stadium.

He celebrated their well deserved win over the English Premier League League leaders with a post on Instagram, where he cited his Nigerian tribe Esan largely found in Edo State located on the South South region.

“CHAMPIONSSS. Esan boy no de carry last, na trophy we de carry. Come on you Geordies best fans in the world. Thank you GOD almighty”, he posted on Instagram with a picture of himself holding the trophy.

His statement means ” An Esan ( tribe in Nigeria) can’t be last in anything. They always win trophies”. It’s not the first time that he has posted in Pidgin english and recently he shared a video of himself preparing a Nigerian meal.

This season aside featuring in the Carabao Cup, the former Sheffield United forward has also played in ten games in the English Premier League.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The senior national team of Nigeria will take on Rwanda and Zimbabwe respectively in the race to be at the 2026 world cup without the services of West Brom defender Semi Ajayi, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Ajayi who has been a regular for the past two years in the Super Eagles suffered a relapse in his second game after being out injured for three months. He is feared out for the rest of the season per multiple reports from news sources close to his club.

31 year old Ajayi missed the last two games in the AFCON qualifiers, where the team were held to a 1-1 draw and also beaten 1-2 at home by Rwanda. In his absence they conceded three goals from set pieces in two games.

Speaking on his absence , a player in the defence of the team revealed that Ajayi will be sorely missed because of what he brings to the backline in the area of defending aerial threats and also building from the rear.

” In the team no one had more interception like Ajayi at the AFCON. He is also very solid in aerial duels and that will no doubt make us to feel his absence the more. Among all the defenders he is the one that can easily and comfortably bring the ball out from the back to help build up. We will no doubt miss him”, he concluded.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Former coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr says South Africa are in a better position to qualify for the 2026 World Cup ahead of his former side, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

South Africa are joint leaders with Rwanda but in second position due to an inferior goal difference, the same point with Rohr’s team Benin Republic who are third going into the next round of games starting from Thursday.

Benin Republic will be up against Zimbabwe on Thursday in South Africa, and Rohr was asked about the favorite to make it from the group which has Nigeria, South Africa, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Rwanda and his team Benin Republic.

He reckoned that while the Super Eagles and South Africa are the favorites, the latter hold a better chance of making it to the world cup ahead of his former side despite admitting that both teams have quality players in their rank.

“South Africa and Nigeria are the favourites in this Group C, and I quite agree,” said the German coach upon touching down in South Africa for their clash against Zimbabwe at the Moses Mabhida Stadium, according to NationSports.

“They can win the group when you look at the quality of their players, even though some of them are not even playing regularly (with their clubs) because they are not fit enough.

“You can say they are favourites, especially South Africa, but we shall see. But for us, we are preparing well.

“We are already here in Durban with some players already, and more coming in tomorrow (today); so we have started preparations already.

“It was a long trip to Durban, and we had about a six-hour stopover in Johannesburg before we connected to Durban, but we are expecting about four more players tonight (Sunday).”

Ade Emmanuel

The omission of Cyriel Dessers from the Super Eagles list of players for the upcoming world cup qualifiers games against Rwanda and Zimbabwe respectively, has dominated discussions from when the final 23 man list was made public by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

Dessers who has 22 goals this season for Scottish side Rangers was not picked by head coach Eric Chelle among the four strikers in Victor Osimhen, Victor Boniface, Tolu Arokodare and Sadiq Umar to lead the team’s attack.

While all of the players in the list boast of double digits goals, Sadiq has five goals this season and all came following his loan move to Valencia from Real Sociedad in the January transfer window.

His choice over Dessers has been the most debated but sources close to the coach revealed that Sadiq edged him, largely due to the competitive nature of the league he is playing in at the moment.

Sadiq plays in the Spanish LaLiga which is the rates as the strongest league in the world, unlike Dessers who plays in Scotland that is not in the top 20 rated leagues in the world.

Chelle was said to have considered picking Dessers ahead of Arokodare but had a change of mind as he prefers a young player to be the backup option to his preferred trio instead of a 30 year old.

However if all goes according to plan, Dessers who Chelle watched when he was at the helm as coach of Mali in a friendly game which his team won 2-0 will likely get a chance in the June friendly game.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman