The head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Austine Eguavoen has decided to drop Bayer Leverkusen striker Victor Boniface from his starting lineup for the first time in the AFCON qualifiers, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Boniface has started in all of their games so far but is yet to find the back of the net in three games. He also has no assist in the same games forcing the coach to take him out of the starting lineup.

Victor Osimhen who was passed unfit for the first two games making him play as a substitute will today lead the line, and will be hoping to find the back of the net like he did against Benin Republic in Uyo.

Eguavoen will play a three man attack of Kelechi Iheanacho on the right, Ademola Lookman on the left and Osimhen through the middle as they go in search of at least a point to seal a spot at next year’s AFCON.

Benin Republic need to avoid defeat to keep their hope of making it to the tournament alive, before their final game in the series against Libya who are already set to miss out on the tournament.

Starting XI

Stanley Nwabali

Osho + Ekong + Bassey

Aina + Ndidi + Iwobi + Onyemaechi

Iheanacho + Osimhen + Lookman

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Head coach of the Cheetahs of Benin Republic Gernot Rohr is under heavy attack from fans of the team after openly admitting that they stand no chance of repeating the 2-1 win they had over Nigeria in June in tomorrow’s AFCON qualifiers, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Rohr powered Benin to a first ever win over their neighbors in June during the world cup qualifiers, a defeat that Nigeria avenged at the the start of the AFCON qualifiers by hitting three unreplied goals past Benin in Uyo two months ago.

Ahead of the reverse tie of that game in Uyo, Rohr was asked if he feels his team can repeat the same feat like they did at their adopted home in Cote d’Ivoire, and he immediately shut it down saying the Nigerian team isn’t the same like the one they defeated in June.

“Repeating the feat of June is going to be complicated. Because Nigeria is now at full strength. But we believe in it,” he told Foot Africa.

“We are missing key players, but we will do without them. In the axis, we would have liked to have Cedric and Olivier with us, but they are not here,” he concluded.

His confession hasn’t gone down well with fans of the team, who feel his admission will dampen the morale of the players of the team ahead of the game , which they need to avoid defeat to keep their hope of making it to the tournament alive.

The vice president of Turkish side Fenerbahce says there is no truth in reports that the club is pushing to sign Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen permanently when his temporary deal expires in the summer with their arch rivals Galatasaray, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Osimhen joined the Turkish side on a year loan deal from Napoli following a breakdown in his relationship with the hierarchy of the Serie A side that he fired to the league title two seasons ago, owing to his desire to force a move.

He has taken to life in Turkey with ease scoring eight goals with four assists in his first nine games for the club in all competitions. A form that has endeared him to the fans of the club and also led to talks about his permanent signing by the club.

Reports says Fenerbahce are however looking to hijack the Nigerian and will table a bid for the Nigerian to Napoli in view of reaching an agreement for his permanent signing.

However President Acun Ilıcalı categorically denied these allegations in a statement to ensonhaber. Ilıcalı said, “Fenerbahçe has nothing to do with the Osimhen transfer. The news is completely unfounded.”

Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Austine Eguavoen is excited over the sharpness of three key players ahead of the Super Eagles AFCON qualifiers game against Benin Republic on Thursday, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Eguavoen had his first training session with 22 of the 23 players invited for the game with only Sadiq Umar, who arrived in the early hours of this morning missing the session due to flight hitches from Spain to the camp in Cote d’Ivoire.

Sadiq is expected to take part in today’s full session , but some players have already shown what they can offer to the team in yesterday’s light session much to the delight of Eguavoen who supervised the session.

Samuel Chukwueze was particularly impressive showing his sharpness after a run of games for AC Milan, he was excused from the botched game against Libya due to a knock but he has since recovered and showed real sharpness yesterday.

Victor Osimhen who was absent during the last international break also showed the better side of his game, and appears to be in his sharpest form for a while thanks to a run of games for his loan side Galatasaray. The only games he played in the qualifiers so far were the games against Benin Republic and Rwanda in the opening round , and he operated in both games without playing an form of football for three months.

That won’t be the case tomorrow and he is sure going to lead the attack. It is the same for Alex Iwobi who was recently described by his club coach Marco Silva as one the best players of his team Fulham.

Iwobi showed the run for Fulham is no fluke with the manner which he trained yesterday, and could start tomorrow after playing the role of an unused substitute in their sole away game against Rwanda in the first round of games in the qualifiers.

The top striker of the senior national team of Benin Republic Tosin Aiyegun says he is coming into this weekend’s 2025 AFCON game against Super Eagles in his best form in a long while, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Born and raised in Nigeria, the 26 year old who will lead his team’s attack against Nigeria on Thursday is tasked with ensuring that he provide the goals that will help them avoid defeat, which will complicate their chances of making it to the tournament next year.

However he will be up against a Super Eagles defence that is gunning for just a point to be at the tournament, and also has players who can be classify among the best in their roles in Africa.

Aiyegun is however confident as he heads into the game on the back of a strong run in his last four games for French Ligue 2 side Lorient, where he has three assists and two goals in the build up to the international break.

” I really think it’s my best run since the start of the season and I hope to carry such form into the international break and back here. The aim is to secure promotion back to where we belong and also help my team make it to the AFCON”, he said before teaming up with the rest of his teammates at their camp in Cote d’Ivoire.

The calls for Maduka Okoye to be made the first choice goalkeeper of the senior national team of Nigeria for the upcoming AFCON qualifiers games against Benin Republic and Rwanda respectively has drawn a reaction from one of the players of the team, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Okoye has been in scintillating form for Udinese in the Italian Serie A this season building on his strong finish to last season with another strings of saves after 12 games in the league this season.

Back with the Super Eagles, he lost his number one spot to Francis Uzoho in 2022 following his decision to take a break from the team largely due to the criticism he suffered for his role in the 0-1 defeat Nigeria suffered in the round of 16 at the AFCON to Tunisia. He was roundly blamed for the decisive goal of the game.

Uzoho was also dropped to the bench for the AFCON at the start of this year with Stanley Nwabali cementing his spot as they made it all the way to the final of the AFCON, where they were beaten 1-2 by the host Cote d’Ivoire.

Nwabali has kept his spot, but there are calls for Eguavoen to drop the Chippa United goalkeeper for Okoye who plays in a league highly rated than where the present number one plays, and currently holds the title of the only Nigerian goalkeeper in a top five league.

However about four players who spoke to us on the condition of anonymity said Nwabali currently has the faith of the entire team, hence should continue in his role as defending as a team requires confidence in who is behind the stick.

Although they also agreed that a positive result in Thursday’s game against Benin Republic should see Okoye return back in goal for the dead rubber clash against Rwanda in Uyo on the 18th of November

Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Austine Eguavoen was left excited yesterday following the arrival of Sadiq Umar to the camp of the Super Eagles ahead of their AFCON qualifiers games against Benin Republic and Rwanda respectively, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Sadiq was the last player to arrive in the camp of the team ahead of Thursday’s game against Benin Republic in Cote d’Ivoire, no thanks to flight issue that saw him fly for almost a day to reach the camp in Abidjan.

He is expected this take part in today’s full session which will be the last one before tomorrow’s game, which they need a draw to seal a spot at next year’s AFCON following the decision by CAF to award them a win for the botched game against Libya.

Eguavoen is a huge fan of the lanky forward and what he brings to the team, hence his decision to include him in the squad for both games despite a not too impressive start to the season with Real Sociedad.

His ability to bring other into play and his height played a huge role in the decision to include him in the team , with the coach expecting the teams they will play against to line up with numbers at the back , which will require a striker like Sadiq to give his team an edge.

Head coach of the senior national team of Spain Luis de la Fuente has explained the reason behind his decision to hand a first time call up to FC Porto striker Samuel Omorodion for their games in the Nations League, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

The 20-year-old has been named in the Spain squad for November’s UEFA Nations League games against Denmark and Switzerland, taking the place of Joselu, who left Real Madrid for Qatari side Al-Gharafa in the summer.

If he plays in any of the game, he will become ineligible to represent Nigeria who have been on his chase with head coach Austine Eguavoen holding talks with him, before he represented Spain at the recently concluded Olympic games.

With 11 goals in 12 appearances since his move to FC Porto from Atletico Madrid, the coach explained that his decision was purely down to his form for Porto, describing him as a part of the growing family.

“The family’s growing — and you always have to add new elements,” De la Fuente told a news conference when asked about Omorodion’s inclusion over Joselu.

“Now is a moment to give chances to players that have earned it, with an eye on the future. There’s a lot of potential out there and we want to see it at the top level.

“Samu is just 20 and has the potential to be a top striker, but he has to keep growing and remain consistent. I hope he maintains his form for a long time because his room for improvement is massive.”

The head coach of the senior national team of Benin Republic Gernot Rohr says the Super Eagles will not be at full strength without Semi Ajayi just like his team will be without key center back Cédric Hountondji when both teams meet in the 2025 AFCON qualifiers, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Benin Republic will head into the game with a crisis in defence, but Rohr who is keen on his team avoiding defeat before their last game in the series against Libya insist that even Nigeria won’t be at full strength without Ajayi.

Ajayi who plays for English Championship side West Brom will miss the game due to injury, and according to Rohr who rates the 31 year old as the most improved player since he handed him his debut with his performance at the AFCON his absence will be felt by the Super Eagles.

” Nigeria will be without Ajayi. A very good player like we saw at the AFCON when he combines with Ekong. Their partnership helped the team get to the final of the AFCON so I believe he will be missed for what he brings to the team”, Rohr said while speaking ahead of the game on Thursday.

He however said although Nigeria have other options, Ajayi’s absence will still be a huge miss for Nigeria because he has been a part of the team for the past two years. ” Nigeria have other options unlike us but Ajayi has been there for two years so you don’t expect it to be the same without him”, he concluded.