The interim technical crew of the senior national team of Nigeria will this weekend put finishing touches to the list of players for the dead rubber AFCON qualifiers game against Sao Tome and Principe, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Super Eagles have been without a substantial coach since the expiration of the contract of head coach of the team Jose Peseiro. Talks over an extension have so far not produced any thing tangible by way of an agreement.

With the Super Eagles set to take on Sao Tome on the 10th of next month and with a deadline for the submission of players in order for them to be released, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) mandated the technical department of the federation led by Austine Eguavoen to handle the list of invited players.

Eguavoen will be in temporary capacity until an agreement is found with Peseiro, which the football house hopes will be sooner rather than later especially with the World Cup qualifiers set to begin in November.

We exclusively gathered that talks are underway to have at least three members of the Nigeria U20 team that went to the U20 World Cup in Argentina included in the list. The idea is to give begin their integration into the senior team.

Per what we gathered, Daniel Daga, Daniel Bameyi , Benjamin Fredrick and Tochukwu Nnadi. The list is expected to be made public next week according to several sources.

Osas Mahawi

Fresh from their opening day 2-0 win over Bologna in the Italian Serie A, Italian giants AC Milan will take on Torino for their first home game of the season, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

They will go into the game looking for a second consecutive win of the season with the aim of possibly wrestling back the Serie A title, which they lost to a Victor Osimhen inspired Napoli team last season.

Ahead of the start of the season, they signed Osimhen’s international teammate Samuel Chukwueze, he made his Serie A debut coming off the bench in the game against Bologna. Recent reports suggest that he could start against Torino.

The game will be his first home game for the team he joined in the summer from Villarreal and he can expect nothing but total support, with tickets for the game already sold out per multiple reports.

According to Italian journalist Matteo Bonetti 72,000 tickets have been sold ahead of the game at the San Siro, which will also see another summer signing in Christian Pulisic who started off with a bang in the Serie A play his first home game.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) won’t be extended the contract of coach of the Jose Peseiro following break down in talks over a new deal that will see him stay on for at least another year, OwnGoalNigeria.comunderstands.

Peseiro’s deal expired last month and talks were on over an extension with the main issue centered around his monthly salary of $70,000 a week. The NFF proposed a slash in the wage as they have struggled to meet up with the demand.

However their proposed wage was rejected by the representatives of the Portuguese coach leading to a collapse in talks. The option of extending the deal will now be terminated using the disagreement over a new pay as the reason in a bid to avoid any penalty.

Already talks have started with prospective coaches but in the interim as exclusively reported by OwnGoalNigeria.com, the team will be handled by the former coach and present technical director of the NFF Austine Eguavoen.

The list of players for their upcoming Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers game against Sao Tome and Principe, a dead rubber game with Nigeria already through to the tournament will be made public next week. It will be compiled by Eguavoen and the Nigerian assistants of the Portuguese coach.

Ade Emmanuel

The president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau has confirmed that the coach of the women team of Nigeria Randy Waldrum has been axed from his role, OwnGoalNigeria.comreports.

Waldrum was involved in a war of words with the NFF blaming them over the poor preparation for the team ahead of the World Cup, which they went and put up a gallant display before losing to eventual finalist England in the round of 16.

Despite their performance at the tournament, the coach whose contract expired last month has been told he won’t be given a new deal, dashing his hopes of leading the team for next month’s Olympic qualifiers and possibly the tournament.

Gusau made this known while responding to the house committee on sports inquest into the row over the bonuses of the team. A situation that dominated global headline immediately after their exit from the tournament.

He said the coach has been cleared all of his outstanding wages and told not to expect a renewal of his deal, before going further to clear the air on the unpaid bonuses of the Nigerian team.

“All the 32 nations that qualified for the World Cup were given $960,000 each for preparation for the World Cup.

“In January, we organised a training tournament of four nations — Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica and Nigeria. Every team used FIFA preparation money. The team was camped in Mexico and they were there for 13 days. In March, they were in Turkey for another training camp.

“The money was not given for the welfare of players but for preparing the team. We paid them allowances as per the tournament they participated in. We cannot use the preparation money to pay outstanding of qualifier matches.

“If the auditors of FIFA should see it, they will query us for that. The money was specific. We cannot use the money for a qualifier that was played in 2019,” he said.

Speaking on the funds allocated to the team by the federal government, he said they got half of what they sent as budget to the ministry after they converted the naira given to them to dollars, no thanks to the high exchange rate.

“It is a budget we presented to the government requesting for intervention from the government, that was what cumulatively came around $1.7 million and the government approved it. And when it got to the federal ministry of finance—they don’t pay us in dollars. The Ministry converted the money into dollars using the official exchange rate. Only half of the money was paid,” he said.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The much talked about transfer of Nigeria international left back Zaidu Sanusi to English Premier League side Nottingham Forest might not happen despite reports of a bid for him, OwnGoalNigeria.comunderstands.

Forest were said to have offered FC Porto €15m for the Nigerian with talks said to be advanced over a deal but that move might be on hold with the club few details away from announcing the signing of Argentina world cup winning defender Marcos Acuna.

Fresh from signing Acuna’s world cup partner and teammate at Sevilla Gonzalo Montiel , a deal for the 31 year old is said to be close to completion according to Spanish tabloid as.com, with Sevilla also closing in on his replacement Borna Sosa from German side Stuttgart for a fee of around €7m.

Former coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr says Tottenham Hotspur wingback Destiny Udogie who tormented Manchester United in the 2-0 win was his prime target before he was shown the exit door as coach of the Super Eagles, OwnGoalNigeria.comreports.

Udogie joined Chelsea last summer from Udinese but was left on loan at the same club before his return this season, where he has so far nailed a spot in the starting lineup of new coach of the team Ange Postecoglou.

Against Man Utd over the weekend, the 20 year old dominated the game so much that he was picked by several pundits as the man of the match. A strong showing that will no doubt put him on the radar of the senior national team selectors of Italy.

A player of the U21 of Italy, his international status could have been an issue of discussion between Nigeria and Italy if Rohr was still in charge of the Nigerian team according to the German coach.

” Yes I spoke with his agent after someone who helps me on the internet told me about his eligibility to play for Nigeria, but few months later I left my role as coach of the team. I hope they keep an eye on him”, he told OwnGoalNigeria.com.

Osas Mahawi

The father of Chelsea winger Noni Madueke has mapped out plans for a mega scouting tournament which will take place in November in the city of Uyo in Nigeria, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Ifeanyi Madueke made this known three days ago when he was the guest at a scouting tournament in Uyo. He termed the test as the preliminary of what to expect in November, when scouts from top teams will be in attendance.

“I’m happy to be in the country. I’ve been impressed with the quality of facility they have here in Uyo and I’ve also seen some talented players, but they need to put in more hardwork to achieve their dreams. I look forward to being here in November for the Superstars scouting tournament,” said Madueke.

Pressed on the international future of his son, who is a full fledged youth international for England switching to Nigeria. He refused to be drawn into providing an answer more like leaving the decision to his son.

Noni who joined Chelsea in January from Dutch side PSV is still eligible for Nigeria at senior level despite having 33 caps and seven goals for England at various youth levels. He is yet to be capped by England at senior level.

The 21 year old played the final 15 minutes of Chelsea’s 1-3 loss to West Ham. His first appearance of the season bringing his total number of games for the English side to 13. He has one goal to his name.

Damian Waziri

With less than three weeks to the senior national team of Nigeria final Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers game against Sao Tome and Principe in Uyo, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is yet to reach an agreement on the extension of the contract of the head coach of the team Jose Peseiro.

Peseiro’s contract as coach of the Nigerian team expired two months ago and talks over an extension has so far not yielded any positive outcome, with both parties yet to reach a compromise on the proposed percentage that will be slashed from his current pay of $70,000 a month.

The NFF on their part are not leaving any stone unturned in the event that an agreement isn’t found before the next game, which will be on the 10th of September. A dead rubber game against Sao Tome and Principe with Nigeria already through to next year Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire.

A member of the technical committee of the NFF told OwnGoalNigeria.com that talks are already underway with the coaches that will handle the game in interim capacity, if they fail to reach a breakthrough in talks with Peseiro.

He said already they have been saddled with the responsibility of drafting the list of players, who will be called up for the game in order to beat the time for clubs to be notified about the invitation of their players.

We exclusively gathered from another source that the crew will likely be headed by Austin Eguavoen , who occupied the same role before the appointment of Peseiro, Finidi George and Usman Abdallah will be his assistants.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The former first choice goalkeeper of the senior national team of Nigeria Maduka Okoye has sealed a four year deal to Italian Serie A side Udinese from English Championship side Watford, OwnGoalNigeria.com understands.

As first revealed by us with leaks from his close associate Oma Akatugba, the out of favor Watford shot stopper is keen on getting his career back on track.

Okoye joined Watford last summer from Dutch Sparta Rotterdam in a deal which was a club record for any goalkeeper of the English side. He was signed on the back of two fantastic seasons in the Dutch league.

He however failed to replicate that same form at Watford playing in just two cup games before a shoulder injury brought his season to a permature end. His lack of game time cost him the number one spot of the senior national team of Nigeria.

The club announced his arrival with a statement on their website. Okoye’s arrival will allow young goalkeeper Eduardo Piana to join Pontedera.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

As Nigeria continues the search for more players eligible for the senior national team of Nigeria, there is the option of picking a player who plays for arguably the biggest team in Europe Real Madrid, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

In preparation for the new season, coach of Real Madrid Carlo Ancelotti picked four players from the youth team of Real Madrid to join the main team namely Marvel, Nico Paz, Mario Martin and Álvaro.

Only Nico Paz made the trip to north America for the playing tour and got some minutes but some made a huge impression on the coach, who couldn’t pick them due to senior players in their position.

One of such players is Marvelous Antolín Garzón, a centre back who was born in Spain to a Nigerian father and a Moroccan mother. The 20 year old has now found an opening to remain with the first team following the injury to Militão.

Ancelotti has already handed the role of fourth choice center back to Marvel, who is also seen as the back up option to Fran Garcia at left back with the club keen on moving on Ferland Mendy.

Marvel will henceforth train and make the matchday squad for games of the first team. A situation which will mean he is closer to a first team debut and potentially a battle for his international future.

A youth international for Spain, he is eligible for Nigeria and Morocco as well, and we sought to know if he has any dreams of representing Nigeria in the future from his management.

” He has Nigerian roots through his father so you can’t rule that out but for now he is focused on doing what is best and most paramount, that is breaking into the first team of Real Madrid. Morocco has also been in touch but he is settled with the Spanish team. You never know what the future holds”, a member of his representatives said.

Daniel Martins