The head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro has been told to extend an invitation to FC Zurich midfielder Ifeanyi Matthew as the team get set for the start of the 2026 world cup qualifiers and also next year Africa Cup of Nations, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Matthew has been exceptional for the Swiss side who are second on the league table, one point behind leaders Young Boys after 14 round of games in the 12 team league. The 26 year old Nigerian has played in all of their games this season.

His performances have not gone unnoticed with former U17 coach of Nigeria, Manu Garba who gave him his breakthrough at U17 and U20 level saying he has what it takes to liberate the midfield of the senior national team of Nigeria.

“I discovered Ifeanyi Mathew in Kano and he made the U17 national team in 2013, a regular in the heart of our midfield and played all qualifying matches of the Afcon U17, but unfortunately his MRI test result before the world cup in UAE was Grade 5 so we had to drop him but he made the Chan team under Late Stephen Keshi and was one of the best performers for the home base Super Eagles”, Manu Garba told OwnGoalNigeria.com.

” I then invited him to the U20 and he had most of the assist for the goals we scored that made us win the Afcon U20 Senegal 2015 trophy and Gold medal. His ball reception,range of vision, ball release is a delight to watch and can score goals from distance”

“An invitation to play in the super Eagles before the Afcon in January will be good and bring out competition in the Midfield for the best team to be selected”.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The representative of high flying Lecce full-back Patrick Chinazaekpere Dorgu said he is aware of interest from Nigeria in the senior international future of his client, who is presently a player for the U21 of Denmark.

Dorgu ranks among the breakaway teens of the ongoing Italian Serie A season with 14 games to his name this season including 12 in the Italian Serie A following his elevation from the U19 team just before the start of this season.

On Saturday, he was on for the entire duration of their draw against AC Milan, holding his own as they battle their way back from a two goal deficit to draw 2-2.

Born in Denmark to parents of Nigerian descent, he has played for Denmark at various youth levels but he is eligible for Nigeria at senior level, making it a straight fight with the African nation for his international future.

His performance this season has already led to talks of him gatecrashing the squad of the senior national team of Denmark for the European championship, but they face competition for his future with Nigeria also monitoring his rise.

A member of his management team told OwnGoalNigeria.com that the 19 year old hasn’t close the doors on playing for the Super Eagles, because he has Nigerian blood in his veins.

” 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 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

The squad of the senior national team for the upcoming world cup qualifiers has been altered in the goalkeeper department, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Udinese goalkeeper Maduka Okoye who was handed a first time call up to the team for a competitive game has withdrawn from the squad and coach Jose Peseiro has called the goalkeeper of Bendel Insurance Amas Obasogie as his replacement.

No reason has been given for the decision of the Udinese goalkeeper to withdraw from the squad, he only returned to the team during the last friendly game against Saudi Arabia and Mozambique when he was called up with uncertainty surrounding the availability of the other two goalkeepers.

His replacement Obasogie will join Olorunleke Ojo and Francis Uzoho as the three goalkeepers in the camp for the games against Lesotho and Zimbabwe on the 16th and 19th of November respectively.

Former captain of the senior national team of Nigeria John Obi Mikel says he will do all that is within his reach for Napoli forward Victor Osimhen to join English Premier League side Chelsea next season, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Osimhen is yet to extend his deal which has two years to run with Napoli putting his future up in the air. His camp and that of the club are yet to reach an agreement on the terms of extending his deal at the club.

The 24 year old Nigerian who fired the club to the league title is keen on a move away from the team according to reports, and Mikel who was Osimhen’s captain in the senior national team of Nigeria at some point said Chelsea will be the perfect place for the forward.

He told the forward during an interview on his podcast that he will make his move to Chelsea happen because the team needs someone like him due to his striking profile with club legend Didier Drogba.

“I know you’re coming to Chelsea. Next season, I know you’re gonna come to Chelsea. I’m telling you, I’m gonna be the agent to broker that deal”.

“I’m gonna make sure that happens. We are crying out for someone like you — since Didier Drogba left the club”, he told Osimhen during the live interview on Obi one podcast.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Head coach of high flying German Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen has given Nigerians an idea of what to expect from newly invited Super Eagles winger Nathan Tella, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports .

The 24 year old was handed his first call up to the senior national team of Nigeria ahead of the start of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, where Nigeria will take on Lesotho on the 16th of November before taking on Zimbabwe three days later in Kigali.

Born in England to parents of Nigerian descent, Tella joined the German side in the summer after an extraordinary year with Burnley in the English Championship, where he spent last season on loan from Southampton.

He scored 17 goals in 39 games to help the team gain promotion and was widely expected to be signed permanently but a difference in valuation led to a breakdown in talks, opening the door for Leverkusen to sign him.

Although he is yet to hit the same height like he did with Burnley, he has however shown enough to earn praises from coach of the team Xabi Alonso, who was full of praises over his qualities after his first league goal for the team in their 4-0 win over Union Berlin yesterday.

‘Nathan is a player that has the ability to just do the right thing, be in the right place, he has the quality to be in the box and makes the right runs. In Nigeria they have great strikers and maybe they could use good wingers. He’s a really nice guy with a strong mentality, he has a great attitude”, he said after yesterday’s win.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Ahead of the senior national team of Nigeria 2026 world cup qualifiers game against Lesotho and Zimbabwe respectively, three players have touched down the city of the game, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Head coach of the Nigerian team Jose Peseiro called up 23 players for the games slated for the 16th and 19th in Uyo and Kigali respectively. All invited players are expected to be around later today for the start of training and full preparation for the game.

Leading the invited players to camp is Kenneth Omeruo, who will be the captain of the team in the absence of Ahmed Musa and William Troost-Ekong. The duo were left out by Peseiro for various reasons.

The Kasimpasa of Turkey defender touched down Uyo in the company of Real Sociedad forward Sadiq Umar and Jamilu Collins of English Championship side Cardiff City.

The Secretary of the Akwa Ibom State Football Normalization Committee, Sir John Etim received the players on behalf of the Nigeria Football Federation. More players are expected to hit camp today and tomorrow as preparation for the clash on Thursday gets underway.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) screened the list of players called up to the senior national team of Nigeria for the start of the world cup qualifiers before making the list public, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

23 players were summoned by head coach of the team Jose Peseiro for the games against Lesotho and Zimbabwe respectively. The list was made public last week.

Before the decision to make the list public, the NFF demanded the explanation on the inclusion of some players in the team, with the decision to call up Southampton midfielder Joe Aribo th most scrutinized by the football house.

Aribo has struggled to get games at his English Championship, playing less than ten minutes in their last four games and has shockingly played more minutes for the senior national team of Nigeria than he has at club level the past one month.

We exclusively gathered that Peseiro told the football house that Aribo’s qualities, which is entirely different from the other midfielders in the team is why he is always in despite his lack of playing time at his club. The coach said he is the most attack conscious in the team aside Alex Iwobi.

He however admitted that if his club condition doesn’t get any better then he will be forced to have a different opinion, which could lead to his axing from the sqaud to next year Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The decision of the coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro to leave out red hot Montpellier forward Jerome Akor out of the list of players for the start of the World Cup qualifiers has been made known to OwnGoalNigeria.com.

Akor has taken the French top division by storm following his summer transfer from Norwegian side Lillestrom. He has 7 goals from 11 games this season with only PSG forward Kylian Mbappe ahead of him in the top scorers chart.

He wasn’t called up by Peseiro for the games against Lesotho and Zimbabwe respectively but Nice forward Terem Moffi who has three goals in the same league was included in the list. The debate has been that Akor should have been considered ahead of Moffi based on current form.

Explaining the decision, a source revealed that the coach has Akor in his sight but feels the games in the world cup qualifiers isn’t the right game to try out new players. He picked players who are experienced in the national team and can handle the pressure that comes with such a huge demand.

Moffi gets the nod this time around on the basis of the aforementioned reason but Akor is well within the sight of the coach, who will likely call him up when preparations begin for next month Africa Cup of Nations.

The inclusion of Sadiq Umar, who is yet to get his rhythm after a one year injury lay off is also on that premises with Peseiro having no doubt that the lanky forward will be useful when the team is up against the physical nature of most African teams. The Real Sociedad forward is yet to get off the mark this season.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Fresh from scoring his first goal for Italian Serie A side Salernitana in their 2-2 draw against Sassuolo, former Nigeria U20 forward Chukwubuikem Ikwuemesi has moved quickly to play down any comparison with Napoli forward Victor Osimhen.

Signed form Slovenian side Celje in the summer, the 22 year old appears to be settling down quickly to life in his new surroundings with his first goal for the team coming in the Coppa Italia 4-0 win over Sampdoria.

He followed that up with his first league goal two days ago in what was his second consecutive start after making the first in last week defeat to Napoli. This time around he made it count by putting his team ahead in the 5th minute.

They threw away a two goal lead to draw 2-2 but the 2020 Nigeria U20 forward has shown a bit of the quality that made the team to splash almost €2m to seal his signing. He was asked about stepping into the shoes of his fellow country man Victor Osimhen, who fired Napoli to the league title for the first time in 33 years.

” I am not like Osimhen. We are both different in so many ways even though his feat and the success he has recorded so far is worth emulating, I will not like to put myself under any sort of pressure by comparing myself with Osimhen who is already established at this level. It’s a slow process and I hope to get there with the help of God”, he told OwnGoalNigeria.com.

Ade Emmanuel

The first choice goalkeeper of the senior national team of Nigeria Francis Uzoho made his first appearance of the season for Cyprus side Omonia Nicosia in their 0-2 league loss to Anorthosis.

It was his first appearance for the team in the league since the 3rd of May, when they played the last game of last season. Brazilian shot stopper Fabiano is the undisputed first choice of the team.

Uzoho was introduced at the start of the second half after an injury to Fabiano with scores at 0-0. He however failed to keep it that way with his team conceding in the 65th and 90th minute to lose the game.

The result saw them drop to fifth on the league table as the league head into the international break. Uzoho is expected to be in goal for Nigeria when they take on Lesotho and Zimbabwe respectively in the world cup qualifiers on the 16th and 19th of November respectively.

He will be hoping to redeem himself after two high profile errors in the friendly games against Saudi Arabia and Mozambique respectively. He was also culpable for the goal that denied Nigeria a spot at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

A harmless shot from Thomas Partey sailed under his body to hand Ghana a vital away goal, which they hanged on to with Nigeria crashing out on the away goal rule after levelling from the spot through William Troost-Ekong.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman