The caretaker coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Finidi George has named two players whom he think will likely be the captain of the team for tomorrow’s friendly game against Ghana, OwnGoalNigeria.comreports.

Nigeria will be without Ahmed Musa and his vice William Troost-Ekong for the game, meaning the team will have one of the vice captains wear the armband when they file out tomorrow in the Morrocan city of Marrakesh.

Instead of sticking to the captain hierarchy of the team before now, Finidi who has been with the team as assistant to Jose Peseiro listed Wilfred Ndidi or Kelechi Iheanacho as possible captains, ignoring the duo of Kenneth Omeruo and Moses Simon who are the next in the order of captaincy under the era of Peseiro.

” Ndidi is there or Kelechi”, he said in an interview with the NFF media. A statement which has divided the camp with some players saying it’s disrespectful to ignore the captain hierarchy, which would have seen Omeruo take over ahead of the duo he mentioned.

On his tactics for the game against Ghana, he said they won’t be changing a lot in the setup the AFCON, but they will play with a system which which allow the players to conserve their energy.

” For tactics we are not changing much just, we will just add a little bit of few elements that we think will help the players not waste energy. We will be very tactical and see how we can win the ball as quick as possible. That is what we are going to do tomorrow and I hope is going to work”, he concluded.

Mohammed Mowiz

The camp of the senior national team of Ghana has been hit with a series of withdrawal ahead of tomorrow’s international friendly game against the Super Eagles of Nigeria in the Morrocan city of Marrakesh, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

While Nigeria can bank on their star players who are fit and injury free, it is not the same for Ghana with three high profile players deciding to stay away from the game.

Top of the list is West Ham United midfielder Mohammed Kudus, who has found the back of the net 11 times in his debut season in England following his move from Dutch giants Ajax in the summer.

West Ham said the 23 year old is nursing a shoulder injury picked up in the 1-1 draw against Aston Villa last weekend, a game which he lasted the entire duration.

He is effectively ruled out of not just the game against Nigeria, but also their second friendly game against Uganda. It is the same for the duo of Mohammed Salisu of French Ligue 1 side Monaco and Thomas Partey of Arsenal.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The interim coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Finidi George has earned praises for his training methods after handling the team in two separate sessions ahead of tomorrow’s international friendly game against Ghana.

Nigeria will take on Ghana in one of the two test games they will be playing during the international break, with the other game against Mali scheduled to take place against Mali on the 26th at the same venue in the Morrocan city of Marrakesh.

Finidi will handle the Super Eagles in both games in interim capacity following the exit of Jose Peseiro upon the expiration of his contract at the end of last month. Finidi who also doubles as the coach of Enyimba was one of the assistants of Peseiro at the AFCON where they came second.

“We just finished with the second training session and we are all focused with the friendlies games ahead. We are all getting along with our coach (Finidi) and basically he knows everything and he has been part of us. I don;’t think it will be difficult for him”, Boavista defender Chidozie Awaziem said when asked about training under the former Super Eagles winger.

“He has done amazingly well in his first training session and I believe we re going to have a good work with him”.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Under-fire Nigeria international winger Samuel Chukwueze has opened up on why he isn’t getting a starting spot at AC Milan despite holding the title of their most expensive summer signing, OwnGoalNigeria.comreports.

Chukwueze joined the Milan side from Villarreal for a fee above €20m aside possible add ons, which could see the fee rise to almost €30m. He was the most expensive purchase for the club, who brought in a whooping ten players.

He hasn’t lived up to the price tag and has been limited to playing the substitute in most of the games he has played this season. So far he has started only seven out of the 17 League games he has played this season.

He scored his first league goal in the 3-1 win over Hellas Verona and he immediately explained the reason behind why he is not starting games regularly. The goal was his second in all competitions.

“It wasn’t easy, those who play in my position are doing very well and are scoring a lot (laughs). Of course, the coach cannot put these players on the bench. I continue to work hard and it doesn’t matter if I play little, today’s goal is very important for my confidence. I must continue to be focused on the future”, he told DAZN.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The senior national team of Nigeria will tomorrow take on Ghana in an international friendly game in the Morrocan city of Marrakesh, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Nigeria will be handled by caretaker coach Finidi George who has been put in temporary charge pending the appointment of a substantive coach, following the exit of Jose Peseiro upon the expiration of his contract at the end of last month.

Peseiro guided the Super Eagles to a second place finish at the recently concluded Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire, they were beaten by the host in the final of the tournament. Finidi was one of his assistants.

Super Eagles mostly played a 3-4-3 formation at the tournament bar the opening game, where they played a 4-3-3 formation. Their approach was largely condemned as being too defensive by most Nigerians especially in the final game defeat.

It appears Finidi has taken the first step towards ensuring that the team play with less freedom and also more offensive in their approach. This much was made known to us by a senior player in the team.

” At the AFCON, we were very defensive and the new coach want us to play differently, which is to be more offensive but that is not saying we shouldn’t defend as well. You will see a different approach tomorrow”, he said.

One of the breakaway star in this season’s Italian Serie A is 19 year old Lecce left back Patrick Dorgu who has so far played 23 matches in his debut season, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Dorgu who has been linked with a host of teams in the summer transfer window is still undecided over his international future as he is eligible for both Nigeria and Denmark. He is presently a youth international for Denmark.

Presently in camp with the Danish U21 side, he was asked about playing for Denmark at the Euros, which will effectively killed any dream or chance of switching his allegiance to Nigeria, and he stayed coy on that very significant decision.

“I haven’t thought about that. Everyone dreams of being able to represent their country,” Dorgu told bold.dk.

“I was born in Denmark and have African roots, and right now I haven’t thought about having to make a choice.

“I just play football and let it come with time.”

In November 2023 when we spoke with his representative, he revealed that playing for Nigeria is an option his client will consider judging by the fact that he is eligible to play for his roots.

” He is Nigerian so you can’t rule it out. Presently he is with the U21 of Denmark and we will like it to be that way and see what the future holds. Interesting to note is that his rise and career decisions have been spot on so far, and the same route we will use when it’s time to make a decision on his international future”, a representative of OUS group who recently entered into a partnership with CAA Base on managing the left back told OwnGoalNigeria.com.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Bournemouth star midfielder Philip Billing has looked back to how close he came to playing for the senior national team of Nigeria as he prepares to earn his third cap for the senior national team of Denmark, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Billing is eligible for the senior national team of Nigeria through his parents and in 2019 he was for the first time formally approached to play for Nigeria by Super Eagles star Alex Iwobi during a game in the English Premier League.

During Bournemouth’s 3-1 victory against Iwobi’s side Everton last month, the then 23-year-old explained how Iwobi approached him to change his allegiance.

“It wasn’t until when we [Bournemouth] were going to play against Everton a couple of weeks ago when Alex Iwobi asked if I might be interested in coming and playing for Nigeria,” Billing told BT, as per Bournemouth Echo.

“He said the coach had asked me. It was the first time I heard anything concrete myself.

“It’s a pat on the back that another country would like you to play for them. I just take that as a shrug and proof that you are doing well.

“It would feel strange to have to play for Nigeria, even though my father is from there.

“I am half Nigerian and I feel that way too but I was born and raised in Denmark. My mother is Danish and my sister is Danish, so it would feel strange to have to play for Nigeria.”

When asked about the encounter ahead of Denmark’s Euro 2024 qualifiers clash against Denmark, Billing who is the top scorer for Bournemouth this season with six goals laughed over it, jokingly saying he probably would have had more international caps.

” Maybe I would have had more caps now if I had listened to Alex”, he said before revealing that he feels very proud and honored to be defending the colors of the Danish national team.

Ade Emmanuel

The senior national team of Nigeria had their first full training session under interim coach Finidi George ahead of Friday’s friendly game against Ghana in the Morrocan city of Marrakesh, Owngoalnigeria.comreports.

Finidi will handle the team in interim capacity following the departure of Jose Peseiro, who left after the expiration of his contract. The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) uplifted Finidi from his role as assistant to the head coach for the games against Ghana and Mali respectively.

A total of 22 players took part in the session which lasted for one hour 45 minutes with emphasis on ball retention and circulation with the new coach keen on driving home his ideas.

The coach who was with the team at the recently concluded Africa Cup of Nations was keen to stress on how he wants the team to play against Ghana tomorrow, which is entirely different from the 3-4-3 formation that was majorly used for the tournament.

He ensured they were lined up in a 4-3-3 formation, which he feels will allow the attacking players in the team to be more expressive and also have less defensive responsibilities.

However, he was keen to stress that they will alternate formations as the game progresses pending on the result. He later had the players lined up for a test game.

Below is how they lined up for the training game.

Team A :

Stanley Nwabali
Bright Osayi-Samuel
Jamilu Collins
Chidozie Awaziem
Fisayo Dele-Bashiru
Sadiq Umar
Nathan Tella
Alhassan Yusuf
Alex Iwobi

Team B

Francis Uzoho
Benjamin Tanimu
Semi Ajayi
Bruno Onyemaechi
Calvin Bassey
Wilfred Ndidi
Kelechi Iheanacho
Raphael Onyedika
Cyriel Dessers
Frank Onyeka

On loan Napoli midfielder Micheal Folorunsho who was handed his first call up to the senior national team of Italy could have represented Nigeria at the recently concluded Africa Cup of Nations, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Folorunsho has been revelation for Verona where he is on loan from the League champions. At international level he is eligible for Nigeria through his parents even though he was born in Italy. He is yet to capped by any of the countries.

Last week he was handed his first call up to the senior national team of Italy by coach Luciano Spalleti on the back of his performances this season, where he has four goals from 27 matches this season.

According to a representative of the 26 year old he could easily have represented Nigeria at the AFCON, if not for the attitude of the former coach of the team Jose Peseiro.

” Folorunsho was keen on playing at the AFCON and I tried to make it happen by texting the coach, he didn’t reply. When I called he picked and I introduced myself as a representative of Folorunsho and after a brief chat he promised to get back to me”, he told OwnGoalNigeria.com.

” Days went by and I called him but he didn’t pick and didn’t return my calls. It was two weeks later that the list of Nigeria for the tournament was made public. That’s how we got to where we are at the moment”, he concluded.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The senior national team of Nigeria had their first full training session under interim coach Finidi George ahead of Friday’s friendly game against Ghana in the Morrocan city of Marrakesh, Owngoalnigeria.comreports.

Finidi will handle the team in interim capacity following the departure of Jose Peseiro, who left after the expiration of his contract. The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) uplifted Finidi from his role as an assistant to the head coach for the two friendly games against Ghana and Mali respectively.

A total of 22 players took part in the session which lasted for one hour 45 minutes with emphasis on ball retention and circulation with the new coach keen on driving home his ideas.

The coach who was with the team at the recently concluded Africa Cup of Nations was keen to stress on how he wants the team to play against Ghana tomorrow, which is entirely different from the 3-4-3 formation that was majorly used for the tournament.

He ensured they were lined up in a 4-3-3 formation, which he feels will allow the attacking players in the team to be more expressive and also have less defensive responsibilities.

However, he was keen to stress that they will alternate formations as the game progresses pending on the result. He later had the players lined up for a test game.

Below is how they lined up for the training game.

Team A :

Stanley Nwabali
Bright Osayi-Samuel
Jamilu Collins
Chidozie Awaziem
Fisayo Dele-Bashiru
Sadiq Umar
Nathan Tella
Alhassan Yusuf
Alex Iwobi

Team B

Francis Uzoho
Benjamin Tanimu
Semi Ajayi
Bruno Onyemaechi
Calvin Bassey
Wilfred Ndidi
Kelechi Iheanacho
Raphael Onyedika
Cyriel Dessers
Frank Onyeka