The idea of having LASK shot stopper Tobias Lawal play for the senior national team of Nigeria has been laid to rest with his invitation to the senior national team of Austria, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Lawal was first called up to the senior national team of Nigeria by then coach Gernot Rohr but administrative issues on his eligibility to own a dual passport denied him the chance of playing for Nigeria.

It was said he will have to gjve up his Austrian passport as the country forbids dual nationality, but that has been put to rest with recent findings proving that the shot stopper, who has been a revelation in the Europa League this season can have dual citizenship as he was a Nigerian by birth and not by naturalisation.

That reports means he can indeed play for Nigeria, but it appears the 23 year old has opted against the idea and have been handed a first time call up to the senior national team of Austria like we exclusively reported last week.

Head coach of the Austria national team Ralf Ragnick has rewarded his fine form with a first time call up ahead of the next international break, where they are expected to be in action against Estonia and Germany respectively in the Euros qualifiers.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The international future of Crystal Palace midfield ace Michael Olise is about to take a huge twist with reports from Algeria saying he is interested in switching nationality from France.

Born in London to a Nigerian father and an Algerian mother, the 21 year old is eligible for all three nations mentioned above but so far he has only represented France and he is presently a part of their U21 team.

His senior international future is still up for grabs with Nigeria, the first senior team to send him an invitation no longer in the race for his services. He was invited by the then coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr three years ago.

Placed in standby he however dumped the idea of pledging his senior international future to Nigeria by sticking with the U21 of France. All of that is about to change going by reports making the rounds in Algeria.

Reports has it that he has already met with the football chiefs of the country and so far the discussion is progressing nicely. Olise is said to be open to the idea and they hope to round up before the start of the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup in November.

Reacting to the news, a scout who worked with Rohr when the left footed sensation was approached by the coach said the present coach of the team Jose Peseiro hasn’t showed any effort in reaching out to Olise.

He said Olise might have his head turned if Peseiro had walked up to him or make an attempt to have him revisit the idea of playing for the Super Eagles of Nigeria.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

In an era where goalkeepers are now becoming more famed for their ability to use their legs a lot better and even more than their hands in some cases, Kingdom Osayi of Nigeria Professional Football League side Doma United has joined the league.

The first choice goalkeeper of the newly promoted side was in goal in the derby game against city rivals Gombe United and he showed his passing range as his team ran out 3-0 winners.

Playing as the away team, Osayi had a hand in two goals scored by his team effectively making him the headline maker after the last round of games in the Nigeria Professional Football League.

Osayi goes into the record books as the first goalkeeper in the history of the Nigeria top flight to bag two assists in one game. A feat that is even rare to achieve not just in Nigeria but also in the world.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Respected Dutch league pundit Johan Derksen has fired a barb at Ajax two goals hero against Heerenveen Chuba Akpom over his post match comments, where he lamented the way he was treated upon his arrival.

Signed from English Championship side Middlesbrough in the summer, the 28 year old is begining to show why the club spent big to sign him after finishing as top scorer and also the best player in the English second division.

Akpom who has scored three goals in his last two games said he was left all to himself at his hotel room in Amsterdam since his arrival from England in the summer. He also said the former coach of the Dutch side Maurice Steijn didn’t help him in settling down quickly.

He said new coach John van’t Schip is getting the best out of him by treating him differently from the previous coach. His comments didn’t go down well with Derksen, who is famed for his verbal outburst.

“What nonsense!” he queried with no sympathy for the ex Arsenal player. “What spoiled children to complain about that. They bought that man for way too much money. He complains a lot. He just has to work for his money.”

His statement is coming at a time when the head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro is set to include the Ajax number 10 for the first time in the list of invited players for the World Cup qualifiers games against Lesotho and Zimbabwe respectively.

Already he has been sent a provisional invitation and will be hoping he makes the final list of 23 players expected to be made public later this week.

Osas Mahawi

In his bid to nip the goalkeeper crisis in the senior national team of Nigeria head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro has made contact with Chippa United shot stopper Stanley Nwabali.

OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal that talks have taken place with the 27 year old and he has been added to the preliminary list of players called up for the start of the world cup qualifiers in November.

However there is no definite decision on his inclusion in the final list of 23 players for the game with Peseiro still keeping faith in the trio of Adebayo Adeleye, Maduka Okoye and first choice Francis Uzoho.

Speaking on the abilities of the former Enyimba of Aba shot stopper Rob Edwards said he is probably the second best goalkeeper only behind the first choice goalkeeper of the senior national team of South Africa Ronwen Williams.

” Nwabali is easily the second best goalkeeper in the PSL (Premier South Africa League). I will pick Williams Mamelodi Sundowns over but when you consider the teams they play for then you will have to respect Nwabali”, Edwards told OwnGoalNigeria.com.

” Take a look at his (Nwabali) numbers and you will see how identical it is to that of Williams. They both have five clean sheets from the first ten games of the season so far, even though one plays for a modest team while the other plays for a team that is about the best in the league”.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Samuel Chukwueze is expected to play some parts for AC Milan today when they take on PSG in the reverse tie of the UEFA Champions League with the first one played two weeks ago going the way of the French side.

AC Milan will be looking for a win to lift them off the basement of the group and also avenge the 0-3 loss they suffered in Paris against the same opponent two weeks ago.

Ahead of the game, coach of the Italian side Stefano Pioli confirmed that Nigeria international winger Samuel Chukwueze is expected to play some parts after making a full recovery from the injury he picked up, while on international duty with Nigeria.

“Chukwueze has had a bit less playing time, but he has been training for two days. Pulisic will start, and Chukwueze will be ready to replace him”, the coach said ahead of today’s game.

The cheering news opened the door for his inclusion in the list of players who will be called up by the head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro for the start of their world cup qualifiers on the 16th of November.

However Peseiro confirmed that the 24 year old won’t be in the team just like Victor Osimhen of Napoli who is still out injured . He went further to explain the reason behind the omission of Chukwueze from the games against Lesotho and Zimbabwe respectively.

“Samuel Chukwueze and Victor Osimhen will not be called up during the next break, we want to avoid any risks. I was very sorry for their injuries: the clubs pay the players and we constantly collaborate with them”, he was quoted as saying by  Tv Play.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

One of the success stories of last season in Europe was 21 year old Nigerian forward Gift Orban at Belgium top division side Gent, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Last season he scored 20 goals in 22 games following his January transfer deadline day move from second division Norwegian side Stabæk. He has failed to match that same height this season.

Yesterday he scored his first league goal since since August 20. A run that has seen him dropped to the bench in recent games and after the game he voiced out his frustrations and lashed out at the decision to drop him to the bench.

‘I’ve had difficult times,’ Orban said. “If you score a lot, everyone is happy. If you don’t score it’s more difficult, you swallow criticism, you hardly get playing minutes and you can hardly start a match. That’s difficult.”

‘I don’t feel like myself anymore,’ Orban continued. “Siting on the couch, playing for ten minutes… What can I help the club or team then? I haven’t spoken to the coach yet. That is not necessary either. I can only say that I remain a pro and will always be committed, whether I can play five or ten minutes, that doesn’t matter. I just need trust. The coach decided that I could come to Ghent, he gave me confidence.”

He went ahead to say if the situation doesn’t change, then he will seek a way out to where he is sure of getting regular game time.

“I’m not a player who gets confidence when he steps in. I am a player who starts and needs to be able to grow in a match. A club can’t destroy my career. I keep working. If it doesn’t work here, elsewhere then,” he said.

“The coach decides who plays. I certainly respect our coach, he is a top coach. He knows what he’s doing. I still trust him. The club remains the most important, the team is above everything. Even if I don’t play but if the team wins, that’s what counts.” Anyway, not an easy situation for Hein Vanhaezebrouck and AA Gent.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The organisers of the recently concluded Balond’or award have revealed how the voting pattern that led to Lionel Messi winning the award went, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Messi finished ahead of the duo of Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe to claim the award with Nigeria Victor Osimhen finishing in 8th position despite his extra ordinary performance in the season under review.

Osimhen scored 25 goals to power Napoli to their first league title in 33 years. He also became the first African player to win the award for the highest goal scorer in the history of the Italian top division.

Despite that none of the African representative selected for voting placed him as the number one in their list. Even the representative from Nigeria voted Messi in first position in his list with Osimhen in fourth.

Only Nigeria and Zambia placed Victor Osimhen in the 4th position. Surprisingly the representative of Cote d’Ivoire gave Osimhen the highest point by placing him second on his list . He wasn’t listed at all by the representative of Cameroon.

Only few African countries considered the Napoli striker in top 5, as most of them including Nigeria placed Lionel Messi in the 1st position. A stark contrast from the way representatives of other countries voted for their players nominated for the award.

The Napoli forward managed to finished 8th due to the votes he garnerd mostly from voters from other continents. The voters were picked from the country of the top ranked football team in the world by FIFA.

Points are allocated to players based on the position they are placed by voters. As expected the top three position carries the highest number of points. 66 journalists picked Messi as the number one.

Nigeria 🇳🇬  :- Messi
South 🇿🇦  :- Messi
Algeria 🇩🇿  :- Haaland
Benin 🇧🇯  :- Haaland
Cameroon 🇨🇲  :- Mbappe
Ivory 🇨🇮  :- Mbappe
Egypt 🇪🇬  :- Messi
Gabon 🇬🇦  :- Haaland
Ghana 🇬🇭 :- Haaland
Equatorial Guinea 🇬🇳 :- Haaland
Morocco 🇲🇦 :- Messi
Uganda 🇺🇬 :- Messi
Senegal 🇸🇳 :- Haaland
Tunisia 🇹🇳  :- Messi
Zambia 🇿🇲 :- Messi
Cape 🇨🇻 :- Haaland

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro has been forced into making changes to his final list of 23 players for the upcoming world cup qualifiers games against Lesotho and Zimbabwe respectively.

Peseiro has already sent out provisional invitation to 35 players but picked 23 players in his main team for the game. He left out some players who were injury doubt in the build up to the game.

He has now been forced to include them in his final list of 23 player, the players include Semi Ajayi, Samuel Chukwueze and Taiwo Awoniyi. All three were at some point ruled out of the games in the international break by their respective teams.

However the duo of Ajayi and Awoniyi made their return over the weekend, while Chukwueze is expected to play some parts when AC Milan take on PSG in the UEFA Champions League tomorrow.

Their return has now forced a turn around by the coach in the area of his final team list for the games with all three expected to be in the list, when it is made public later this week.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Ajax Amsterdam picked their second win in a row beating Heerenveen 4-1 in the Dutch Eredivisie, a result that helped them to move up to 11th on the league table from the position of 17th just seven days ago.

Steven Bergwijn opened scoring in the 25th minute before Brian Brobbey ensured they go into the half time break with a two goal cushion by netting in the 42nd minute.

It stayed that way until six minutes from full time when substitute Chuba Akpom scored twice in the 84th and two minute into time added on to seal a comfortable win in front of their fans.

Signed from Middlesbrough in the summer transfer window, the 28 year old opened his goal scoring account in the win over Volendam last week before his brace yesterday.

Akpom who switched from England to Nigeria two years ago has been handed a provisional call up to the squad of the senior national team of Nigeria for the world cup qualifiers games against Lesotho and Zimbabwe respectively.

His name was contained in the enlarge list of 35 players which will be trimmed down to 23 and made public later this week per what OwnGoalNigeria.com exclusively gathered.

Osas Mahawi