A lot of followers of the senior national team of Nigeria were surprised when the head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria, who has constantly preached about the need for the team to play an attacking brand of football made a switch to a more defensive approach at the AFCON.

In his initial one year following his appointment as coach of the Nigerian team, Peseiro played the 4-2-4 formation believing that it is the best way to make use of that attacking talents at his disposal.

The system brought mixed results, but he still stuck with it, but at the AFCON where the team started the first game playing in a 4-3-3 formation, the coach switched to 3-4-3 and stuck with it till the final game where they lost 1-2 to the host Cote d’Ivoire.

Explaining the sudden switch in style, a player in the team revealed it was seen as the best way to approach the tournament owing to the absence of the duo of Victor Boniface of Bayer Leverkusen and Sadiq Umar of Real Sociedad.

” They (Sadiq and Boniface) are the two players who can compliment Victor Osimhen in a two man attack if we play 4-4-2 or 4-2-4 but they were both absent. Kelechi Iheanacho who can play in that role wasn’t entirely fit and didn’t take part in the training camp ahead of the tournament”, he told OwnGoalNigeria.com.

” So we had to adopt a more defensive approach to make up for their absence hence the switch to 3-4-3. Maybe the idea shouldn’t have been used in the final, maybe Moses Simon should have started but you never can tell if that will be enough for us to win”.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

UK based Nigerian football administrator David Doherty has given the true picture of things regarding the international future of Luton Town FC duo Gabriel Osho and Elijah Adebayo, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

The duo are eligible for the senior national team of Nigeria as well as England but are yet to be cap by both nations at any level. Their performances this season for newly promoted Luton Town has ignited talks about their international future.

Osho has stamped his feet as one of the first names in the team whenever coach Rob Edwards picks his defenders with two goals to his name including one against Arsenal, while Adebayo has nine goals this season. Both players are playing in the English top flight for the first time in their career.

In January Adebayo became the first Luton player to score a hat-trick in the Premier League when he netted a treble in the 4-0 win over Brighton.  He also scored against Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City so far this season, as well a last minute equaliser against Nottingham Forest in October.

Speaking on the 26 year old forward and the 25 year old defender, Doherty revealed that both players have been keen on playing for Nigeria long even before they made the step up to the English Premier League.

He made it known in a post on Team Nigeria UK Instagram handle giving a detailed timeline of their interest in representing Nigeria despite their eligibility for England.

Below is the text from his post.

So, I have seen some news headlines and updates from a few media platforms and blogs about the future of both.

Let us make it clear here once and for all, Gabriel Osho and Elijah Adebayo have always been open and committed to the Nigeria project from day one, and there has not been interest or move from England for both duos, so there is no point trying to score points for putting out headlines like NFF should go after them now o.

Let start from Gabriel Osho, whom we knew from age 16 at Reading FC and was one of the young prospects,, our plan then under the programme [ Soaring Eaglets ] for young Nigerian descents was when we got to know him and Adebayo, alongside many other youngsters, so we got to meet with his Mom [ Mrs Osho] and exchange digit and that of Gabriel Osho as well [The funny thing is I still had a brief chat with him of recent ]. Like I said, Osho has always been open to Naija, no doubt.

For Elijah Adebayo, first got to know about him at 16yrs during his days at Fulham FC Academy head of recruitment Malcolm Elias, who is still very much with the academy at fulham up till date.

I remember we even organised a friendly as part of our search for young Nigerian descents across the UK with Fulham U16’s a year after. However, Adebayo has moved up age as at then.

Fulham has always Nigerian descent on their books any same with Reading FC.

Head coach of top division  Belgium side Antwerp Mark Van Bommel says 26 year old Nigerian winger Childera Ejuke is more unpredictable with the ball at his feet than the illustrious trio of Lionel Messi, Arjen Robben Ronaldinho, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Ejuke joined the Belgium champions on a one year deal after using the opportunity afforded by FIFA to suspend his deal at Russian side CSKA Moscow owing to the war in the country.

After a slow period of adaptation, he has now found his feet with two goals and two assists in his last ten games for the club. Aside that he has been the driving force of the team when they make the transition from defence to attack.

Such has been his impact, that Van Bommel who was key in bringing him to the club sees him as a better dribbler with the ball at his feet than three of the best dribblers he witnessed in his career.

“Messi, Ronaldinho, Robben, … Dribblers with specific actions in their legs. But Chidera Ejuke you really don’t know.  Left, right, a through ball or an extra cut… He can do it all”, the coach said while speaking on the new found form of the 8 caps Super Eagles winger.

The turnaround is his form could see him earn a spot in the senior national team of Nigeria, with his last invitation coming in the 1-2 friendly game loss against Algeria in 2022.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The senior international future of Bologna striker Joshua Zirkzee has been a major talking point following his impressive performances for Bologna in the Italian Serie A this season, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Born in the Netherlands to a Dutch father and a Nigerian mother, Zirkzee is eligible for both nations at senior level despite representing the Netherlands at several youth levels. This season he has grown in leaps and bound with nine goals and three assists in 24 matches.

During the Africa Cup of Nations, where Nigeria went all the way to the final before losing 1-2 to the host Cote d’Ivoire, the 22 year old supported the Nigerian team all through on his social media handle.

It shows he is still connected to the Super but for now he confirmed he is focused on making the grades with the Netherlands, and even if he doesn’t make the squad to the Euros he will still be patient till he gets a call up.

“My dream is to play for my country. Every kid in Netherlands that is a football player dreams of stepping in those shoes of Van Basten and all the other strikers that were after him. As a football player that’s the highest you get”, he told Italian publication La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“Of course the trophies and everything but playing for your country is something special, playing for your country in a big tournament, let’s say World Cup or European Championship, that’s one of my dreams.

“Having the European Championship in Germany, the country where I also played, it would be a bit extra special. If I’m not there as a player, I am certainly there as a supporter.”

Ade Emmanuel

The head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro has confirmed reports that he is a top target for the senior national team of Nigeria, who are without a coach following the sacking of Djamel Belmadi over a poor outing at the Africa Cup of Nations, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Peseiro who guided Nigeria to the final of the tournament where they were beaten 1-2 by the host Cote d’Ivoire has the option of extending his deal after reaching the target of getting to the semi final of the tournament.

However he is yet to take up the option, although talks are ongoing with the NFF on having him stay on as coach with his deal set to expire at the end of this month.

“I received a lot of offers after the African Cup final.

I received an offer from the FAF but I will first rest and my agent will take care of it ,” he stated

The Algerian job will see him earn around €208,000 a month if he gets it, the same amount as the former coach of the team Belmadi. He currently earns $60,000 as coach of the Super Eagles.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The first Luton player to score a hat-trick in the top flight since Lars Elstrup in 1990 Elijah Adebayo has given the clearest hint on where his international future lies with the 26 year old eligible for both Nigeria and England, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

His club record was achieved with his treble against Brighton, despite playing his first season at the top flight he hasn’t looked out of place among the big boys much to the excitement of his coach Rob Edwards.

“He looks at home at this level,” Edwards said on Friday. “That’s real credit to him, to his mentality, to his work rate, his desire to improve, so he’s a brilliant inspiration to a lot of young people. His journey, to see where he is right now and the great thing is, the exciting thing for us is that there’s loads more to come as well. He’s just starting to realise his potential, which is brilliant.”

26 year old Adebayo is yet to represent any of the above countrles at any level, but his current run of nine goals in 22 games in the English Premier League for newly promoted Luton Town FC has sparked the debate on where  his International future lies.

He gave an hint on where it lies in an interview with the Times, making clear that his mother will be excited for him if he plays for the Super Eagles of Nigeria, the team he supported during the recently concluded Africa Cup of Nations where they finished as runners up to the host Cote d’Ivoire.

“I would like to play for Nigeria,” Adebayo told The Times. “It would make my mum happy, make her proud. That’s something we’ve spoken about. Playing for England? It would be a case of whichever comes first. My mum would be proud if I played for Nigeria or England, but Nigeria especially.”

Mohammed Yusuf Suleiman

Respected South African coach Gavin Hunt has a different idea to CAF on who is Super Eagles best player at the recently concluded Africa Cup of Nations, where the team were beaten 1-2 by Cote d’Ivoire in the final.

After the tournament, PAOK defender William Troost-Ekong was voted the most valuable player of the tournament for his performance for the Super Eagles where he scored three goals including their lone goal in the final.

Ekong was also named in the official team of the tournament by CAF , but Hunt feels the Super Eagles went all the way to the final due to the workaholic attitude of Brentford midfielder Frank Onyeka who played all of the games for Nigeria at the tournament.

Onyeka anchored the midfield with Alex Iwobi with Peseiro maintaining a 3-4-3 formation for large spells of the tournament, Hunt said the fact that the system worked for Nigeria has a lot to do with the 24 year old.

” I know a lot of people will disagree with me on this but it is my opinion and I can defend it. Onyeka to me has been their key player in the run up to the final. He sweeps everything in front of him and drives the team higher up the pitch as well. To me he was their best player and  key to their two midfielder system, which worked at the tournament”, he said.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

It’s been almost a week since the senior national team of Nigeria were beaten 1-2 by the host of the Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire in the final match of the tournament, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro said after the game that the host deserve to win lamenting the fact that his team failed to rise up to the occasion despite taking a 1-0 lead into the half time break.

Peseiro however defied lot of expectations by leading the team all the way to the final, with many people not convinced about how well they can go following a not too impressive run in the build up to the start of the tournament.

Despite that Portuguese journalist Freddie Pedro told OwnGoalNigeria.com that to Peseiro it’s nothing new when it comes to losing finals as he has lost three of the four he has played in his career as a coach.

” A good coach many will say but he carries a lot that many people can’t understand about him. Again since he went independent as a coach he has only won one of the four finals he has played as a coach, which was the 2013 League Cup where his team SC Braga defeated FC Porto 1-0 in the final”, he said.

” Aside that win it hasn’t been all smooth for him with his team Sporting Lisbon losing the UEFA Cup final (now the Europa League) to CSKA Moscow in 2005. In 2010 he lost in the final of the Gulf Cup while at the helm as coach of Saudi Arabia, they were beaten by Kuwait. Then while he was at Porto he lost the Portuguese Cup final to SC Braga. Now the AFCON loss with Nigeria. Safe to say he has a habit of losing in the final games when the expectations are really high”, he concluded.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The senior international future of on loan Atletico Madrid forward Samuel Omorodion isn’t quite certain that he will represent Spain with Nigeria also said to be keen on the 19 year old, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Omorodion qualifies for Nigeria through his father but has represented Spain where he was born at several youth levels, the last of which is playing for the U21s four months into his stay with the U19s.

He took the LaLiga with storm playing for Granada, prompting Atletico to trigger his buyout clause of €6m before the close of the summer transfer window. He was immediately sent out on loan to fellow LaLiga side Alaves.

At Alaves he has stepped up to the occasion with 8 goals in 13 games including one against Barcelona. That form hasn’t gone unnoticed by the handlers of the senior national team of Nigeria, and contacts has been made already per what we exclusively gathered.

A member of the coaching staff of coach Jose Peseiro made contacts with his representative to set up a meeting, which they plan to hold after the Africa Cup of Nations as the future of the coach is tied to the tournament.

With Nigeria finishing second after losing 1-2 to Cote d’Ivoire meaning head coach Jose Peseiro could yet stay after meeting the target of semi final, a decision which will likely be next month might see another approach to the 19 year old.

However they faced a huge task in convincing the well built striker who already stated that his priority is to make the step up to the senior national team of Spain, stating clearly that he isn’t interested in playing for Nigeria.

“Spain has given me the opportunity and I am very grateful for it. I don’t think about Nigeria. My goal is to debut with the senior side and have my career in Spain” he said in November last year.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman