A former winner of the Africa Cup of Nations with the senior national team of Nigeria Efe Ambrose has given his opinion on why Bayer Leverkusen forward Victor Boniface isn’t scoring for the Super Eagles like he does for his German side, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Boniface has just one goal for Nigeria in seven senior caps, a shadow of his tally for Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen, where he finished last season with 21 goals and ten assists in all competitions.

This season he is on track to better that tally with five goals and one assists in the first eight games of the season, including the winner in the 1-0 UEFA Champions League win over AC Milan on Tuesday.

Reacting to his struggle in front of goal for Nigeria, Ambrose who won the 2013 AFCON with the Super Eagles said, the forward is playing in an entirely different setup and formation in the Nigerian team different from what he is used to in Germany.

” It’s not the same system and it’s like what is happening to Phil Foden when he plays for England. I watch him play more around the box for Bayer Leverkusen while in the Super Eagles he is mostly in the box. The system is different hence the difference in output”, he told OwnGoalNigeria.com.

” Then maybe he is eager to get going and that could make him rush his decisions in front of goal. He needs a goal to calm his nerves and possibly open the floodgates for more, because he clearly has what it takes to deliver more”, he concluded.

Former coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro has revealed the one player he relied on to give his team an edge in tight games during his time as coach of the senior national team of Nigeria, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Peseiro led the Super Eagles for 22 months before leaving his role in February, after guiding the team to the AFCON final where they were beaten 1-2 by the host Cote d’Ivoire.

The coach who rejected the option of extending his stay as coach despite reaching the target of getting to the AFCON semi final to trigger an extension, was asked about the player he felt wasn’t appreciated enough by those outside the team.

” Moses Simon is different from the rest. He works really hard for the team and provides different solutions during games. I must also say managing him is very easy because he doesn’t give you any trouble”, the coach said.

“Simon was one of the leaders of the team during my time. He is well respected and loved by his teammates and my coaching crew. Never causing trouble within the group”.

The head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Austine Eguavoen has been forced into making changes to the squad that will prosecute the upcoming 2025 AFCON qualifiers double header against Libya, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Super Eagles will be looking to solidify their position as group leaders when they take on Libya on the 11th and 15th of October respectively. They will first be the host in Uyo before the trip to Tripoli four days later.

Ahead of the game, Eguavoen who will continue in his role as interim coach has called up 24 players from the 35 who were sent preliminary letters of invitation two weeks ago.

However due to the uncertainty surrounding the availability of top striker Victor Osimhen, a replacement is being lined up. It is the same situation for Orlando Pirates defender Olisa Ndah who is battling to be fit for both games.

Both players will be given this weekend to prove their fitness, and if otherwise they won’t be included in the squad for both games with contacts already made with their likely replacements.

Turkish side Galatasaray have confirmed the severity of the injury suffered by Nigeria international striker Victor Osimhen shortly after his brace in their 3-3 draw in a league game against Kasimpasa, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Osimhen was subbed off due to the injury, and subsequently revealed that the injury isn’t as serious as initially feared but recent report by Galatasaray shows it could keep him out for a while putting him in danger of missing the Super Eagles AFCON 2025 qualifiers games against Libya on the 11th and 15th of October respectively.

“The treatment of our football player Victor Osimhen, who felt pain in his upper left posterior muscle during the Kasımpaşa match in the seventh week of the Trendyol Super League and who was diagnosed with strain (strain and bleeding) in his upper left posterior muscle group during his check-ups at our sponsor hospital Medicana today, has been started”, reads a statement on the website of the club.

Already he wasn’t included in their squad for the Europa League game against RFS of Latvia on Thursday, and he could miss the game against Alanyaspor on Sunday which will effectively rule him out of the Super Eagles games during the international break.

A report is expected by Friday but the interim coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Austine Eguavoen is already drawing up plans for his possible replacement in the event that he isn’t passed fit for the games.

The coach of top division Belgium side Gent Thorsten Fink says Tolu Arokodare who is heavily under consideration for a first time call up to the senior national team of Nigeria is the best striker in the Belgium top division, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Arokodare is having a whirlwind start to the season, and it has put him on the radar of the interim coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Austine Eguavoen, who was hinted about the forward by his sources in Belgium.

There is a huge chance of the former Nigeria U17 striker getting the call up as a replacement for first choice striker Victor Osimhen, who is battling to be fit for the double header game against Libya in the AFCON 2025 qualifiers scheduled for the 11th and 15th of October respectively.

Fink while speaking on the 23 year old early in the season in the wake of report that he could leave the team said he is keen on holding on to the physically imposing striker who has scored six goals in nine games this season.

“Believe me, there is no better striker in Belgium than Tolu,” said the former Bayern Munich star Fink . “On condition that he plays with passion. He showed that against Club Brugge.”

“I am convinced that I can get the best out of him. Tolu knows that I believe in him. I hope to convince him to stay at Racing Genk. You won’t find a striker with his qualities for less than ten million.”

The representative of Chelsea defender Tosin Adarabioyo says England based Nigerian football administrator David Doherty lied over his claims in an interview with TVC that his client has decided to play for the Super Eagles of Nigeria, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

In an interview anchored by the media officer of the senior national team of Nigeria Promise Efoghe, Doherty said the news of th decision of the 27 year old to switch to Nigeria is a welcome development as he is approaching his prime years.

Doherty went further to throw shades at the former captain of the senior national team of Nigeria Mikel Obi who criticized players switching to Nigeria at the latter stages of their career, after failing to make headway with their first choice option of international football.

Reacting to the story, Gbolahan Adarabioyo the elder brother of the defender who also doubles as his agent told our source that the news is not true, saying a decision on switching to Nigeria isn’t on the menu of the lanky defender.

Although Tosin has a personal relationship with the interim coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Austine Eguavoen, a switch of nationality isn’t on the card and haven’t been discussed by both parties since Eguavoen took over in his present role.

Newly signed AC Milan striker Tammy Abraham has once again opened up on his Nigerian origin seven year after he famously denied switching his international future to Nigeria, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) announced in 2017 that the then Chelsea striker has agreed to switch nationality to Nigeria after meeting with Amaju Pinnick, who was at the helm as president of the football body.

Two days later , Tammy termed the news as false pledging his international future to England, where he now has 11 senior caps and three goals. Despite that the 27 year old hasn’t forgotten his Nigerian roots and he said he is looking to visit Nigeria soon.

In the interview, he confirmed that he grew up in an environment with so many Nigerians and his mother always cooks the local Nigerian dishes. He picked his AC Milan teammate Fikayo Tomori as his closest friend in football. Ironically they both snubbed the offer of representing Nigeria at senior level.

Your relationship with Tomori?

“I have known him since I was six years old, we grew up together, we have had many experiences together, we have always been there for each other. We grew up together, we got to the first team, we played in the Premier League, we got to Serie A and now we play in the same club. It’s really a dream.”

On his Nigerian origins…

“I have a few Nigerian friends. I grew up in an area with a lot of Nigerians. I grew up with that culture, I’ve been to Nigeria and I hope to go back soon. My mum often cooks Nigerian dishes.”

The interim coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Austine Eguavoen almost left his role as technical director of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) according to a report on ESPN written by foremost Nigerian journalist Colin Udoh.

In his article on the reason why the NFF appointed Eguavoen as interim coach of the men’s senior national team of Nigeria and Justin Madugu as the interim coach on the women’s team, Udoh said a lack of finance forced the NFF into making the decision.

“Eguavoen is capable of doing the job,” an official of the NFF was quoted as saying by ESPN. “Right now, there are no funds to pay a foreign coach, and he has done so well in the matches he played that nobody is even talking about a foreign coach again.

“The best thing for us to do is to let him continue because there is no guarantee that a new man will come in and work any magic in the short time he will have. In fact, if he continues to do well with the team, there will be no need to appoint any coach for now”, he stated.

Colin went further to reveal that Eguavoen almost left his role as technical director, the position that saw him stepped into the vacant managerial role after his salary was slashed by the NFF in the summer.

“In spite of that, the former defender is allegedly not getting paid any extra. Sources within the NFF told ESPN that Eguavoen’s wages as Technical Director were actually slashed this summer as part of the federation’s belt-tightening measures”, he wrote.

” The move did not go down well with the former World Cup star, and he is said to have considered resigning his position, before he was prevailed upon to remain”, he concluded.

New Napoli hitman Romelu Lukaku turned down the chance to inherit the number 9 shirt of Nigeria international striker Victor Osimhen following his controversial exit from the club to Turkish side Galatasaray on a season long loan deal, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Lukaku was picked by coach Antonio Conte as the replacement for the Nigerian, and was subsequently handled the number of the 25 year old famously known for his role in firing the team to their first league title in 33 years.

Osimhen’s departure which has dented his image with the club’s hierarchy reached an all time low when he failed to get a move to Saudi Arabia side Al Ahli, and later Chelsea on transfer deadline day. He was subsequently not registered by Napoli and his number handed to Lukaku.

In a shock move, Lukaku declined the offer and instead picked the number 11 shirt, and in La Repubblica has now unravel the reason behind his decision quoting an unnamed source who is close to the Belgian.

“For Lukaku it will already be a choice of either the number 9 or 11, but the new striker did not want his predecessor’s number on his shirt. A gesture of respect towards Osimhen , who in the meantime has been loaned to Galatasaray and has suffered a muscle injury after scoring a brace against Kasimpasa”, the publication reported in their today’s edition.