When the senior national team of Nigeria take on Algeria in an international friendly game on the 23rd and 27th of September respectively they will be without the services of some of their coaches.

According to a report by Punch, head coach of the Nigerian team Jose Peseiro agreed to be coach of the Nigerian team on a one year deal which has the option of getting extended if he meets certain laid down goals as stated in the contract.

It is reportedly worth $70,000 (N30m) a month, he will cater for his foreign assistants, who are three in number from his pay. He was also given three Nigerian assistants who will be taken care of by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

Former Nigeria international Finidi George was appointed as his first assistant while Salisu Yusuf and Usman Abdallah where made second and third assistants respectively with Ike Shorunmu getting the post of goalkeepers trainer.

While Peseiro has a signed contract, the Nigerian assistants appointed by the NFF don’t have any of such with the football body and it led to two of the coaches boycotting the games against Algeria. Only the duo of Yusuf and Abdallah agreed to go on the trip.

Shorunmu and Finidi are insisting that for them to continue working with the team they must have their contract papers signed. The media officer of the team however played down the report but Shorunmu when contacted said he can’t speak on his contract because it’s personal.

The news that Leicester City midfielder Wilfred Ndidi won’t be available for Nigeria when they take on Algeria in an international friendly game has taken a big hit on the chances of the team getting a good result.

Nigeria will play two games against Algeria, one against the B team on Friday and the other game on Tuesday, the 27th of September in Oran, same place that will host the first friendly game.

Ndidi will be missing in both games due to injury but it’s looking like he won’t be missed that much as one of the new players who plays in his role has taken the team’s training session by storm. That player of Raphael Onyedika of Belgium side Club Brugge.

” He is naturally a good player. It goes without saying as he is very good on the ball and also off the ball. No one can say he hasn’t done well”,a player said after yesterday’s session.

Another player said he can see clearly why AC Milan were keen on signing him from Danish side Midtyjlland during the summer transfer window before he decided to join Club Brugge of Belgium.

” I was eager to see him play and I wasn’t disappointed. He is aggressive off the ball and very assertive when he has the ball. I clearly see why AC Milan were keen on him. I think he will give us a different dimension”, he said.

The senior national team of Nigeria will take on the B teams and the main team oof Algeria in two friendly games billed for the 23rd and 27th of Septemberrespectively.

Ahead of the game, OwnGoalNigeria.com senior editor Mohammed Yusuf Suleiman popularly known as Mowiz picks five players who have a point to prove to new coach Jose Peseiro.

Kevin Akpoguma – The Hoffenheim defender is back from a self imposed exile from the team. The pressure is now on him to show the form that has made him a regular in the Bundesliga in the Nigeria national team. Where he hasn’t quite step up.

It’s a new start for most players and now more than ever he stands the chance of nailing a regular spot with others bar Calvin Bassey struggling for game time.

Chidera Ejuke – From Gernot Rohr to Austine Eguavoen he usually wins them over but after a while he goes missing. A very good dribbler, his end product is still frustrating but he came to the camp on the back of bagging back to back assists for Hertha Berlin. Impressing the new coach should be high on his agenda.

Raphael Onyedika – With Wilfred Ndidi out injured the onus is now on the Club Brugge new signing to make the best out of what will be his first cap for Nigeria if he gets to play. The idea will be to impress the coach with the intention of earning more caps. The time is now.

Maduka Okoye – His case is more of trying to win back his spot as his rival Francis Uzoho didn’t do badly in the four games under new manager Jose Peseiro. Reports from the training of the team has it that he has so far done very well and he will be hoping it earns him a spot between the sticks to impress the coach in at least one of the two games.

Taiwo Awoniyi – Two goals for Nottingham Forest helped made his recall possible. The idea is not to displace Victor Osimhen who isn’t available for the game but it’s more like pushing to be the number one back up in his absence. A role he presently has to battle with the duo of Terem Moffi and Cyriel Dessers with Sadiq Umar unavailable like Osimhen due to injury.

The senior national team of Nigeria will be without the services of Leicester City midfielder Wilfred Ndidi when they take on Algeria in an international friendly on the 23rd and 27th of September respectively.

Nigeria will take on the B team of Algeria tomorrow before engaging the main team on the 27th of September. They will have to navigate the game without the midfielder who is one of their most influential players.

Ndidi suffered a knock which required him to return back to England for treatment effectively ruling out of the games, it means the new coach of the team Jose Peseiro is still without the chance to work with the player in a match situation since his appointment.

Peseiro has handled the team in four games since his appointment which came after the failure of the team to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar. So far he has won the two competitive games he has coached the team by beating Sierra Leone 2-1 and thrashing Sao Tome and Principe 10-0 respectively in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

Not many people in football have heard the name Ben Odeje, no thanks to the fact that his feat has largely been left unrecognized until few days ago when he was contacted by the English FA.

The FA are inviting Odeje to England’s UEFA Nations League clash with Germany a week today as part of a move to commemorate our country’s ‘black football trailblazers’.

Odeje’s story is one of racism, respect and, eventually, recognition. The 67-year-old tells a harrowing story of a fan asking him if people still lived in trees in Africa as he made his way home after a defeat in the 1970s.

Laurie Cunningham was widely recognised as England’s first black footballer when he featured for the Under 21s in 1977. But an investigation by the BBC in 2013 cited Odeje, whose parents are Nigerian, as the first black man to represent the Three Lions in a schoolboy fixture against Northern Ireland in 1971.

‘I kept asking myself, why has it been given to someone else?’ explains Odeje. ‘The fact is Laurie and I were very good friends. When he signed as an apprentice at Leyton Orient, I was an apprentice at Charlton and we used to meet regularly.

‘We went our different ways, he went to West Brom and Madrid and I stayed here. But the thought it was given to him and everyone around south-east London knew it wasn’t him, it worried me a bit.

‘It got to the stage where my children were being called liars at school. But then the recognition was given to me by the BBC.

‘That made my kids happy and they went back to school extremely happy because they had the ammunition to show ‘Look, this is my dad’.’

Asked if waiting more than half a century for a nod from the FA took its toll, Odeje responds: ‘Yes, I was left hanging, forgotten, cast aside.’

The name Ethan Nwaneri has to be the most mentioned the past few days in England after setting a new record by becoming the youngest ever player to play in the English Premier League.

He made his debut for Arsenal in their 3-0 win over Brentford at the age of 15 and 181 days. Smashing the previous record held by Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott.

Born to a father of Nigerian descent which means he is eligible to represent Nigeria despite playing for England at U16 level. England are however not entertaining the idea of the talented kid getting linked with Nigeria.

“He’s definitely on our radar because he is English,” England Under-21 manager Lee Carsley tells Sky Sports. “He’s a real talent and it’s a fantastic achievement.

“When they get a chance in the first-team, it’s different. It’s not a sink or swim situation but we’ve seen players who struggle to make that transition from academy football into the seniors. They all need time and that experience so it’s great that Mikel did that”, he concluded.

Highly rated on loan Lorient defender Moritz Jenz has picked where he thinks his international future lies after a strong start to his career at Scottish side Celtic.

Jenz has cemented his spot in the starting lineup of coach Ange Postecoglou with four appearances in the league and two in the UEFA Champions League. He has two goals to his name from his position as a right back.

He is hoping his performances will open the door for him to gain international recognition and have a taste of international football, he is eligible to represent Germany and also Nigeria but he is yet to be capped at any level.

The 23 year old who is very comfortable with both feets however picked playing for Germany as his preference because he grew up there. He is eligible to represent Nigeria through his grand parents .

“I qualify for Germany and Nigeria but I would prefer Germany because that’s where I grew up,” he said.

“It’s a great country to play for an hopefully one day I can make a couple of appearances, then maybe a couple more and then, who knows, perhaps play in a World Cup or Euros.

“But I need to do my best for the club first. That’s the most important thing and after that we can talk about the national team”.

The senior national team of Nigeria had their first training session ahead of the first of their two friendly games during the international break in Algeria.

Nigeria will play against the B team of Algeria on Friday before engaging with the main team four days later. All but two of the invited players have arrived the camp of the team aside from the duo of Ebube Duru and Francis Uzoho.

18 players took part in yesterday’s training session which was mainly done to help the players loosen up after the long trips some of them had on their way to the venue of the game in Algeria.

The arrival of Kelechi Iheanacho will see the number of players in training later today swell to 19 and it so expected to be a full intense session. There is no confirmation if the expected duo of Duru and Uzoho will be in camp before the training begin.

Below is the list of players in the camp as revealed on the various social media handles of the team.

In camp now: Okoye, Ekong, Omeruo, Awaziem, Aina, Bassey, Sanusi, Akpoguma, Ozornwafor, Ndidi, Onyeka, Iwobi, Onyedika, Simon, Awoniyi, Ejuke, Dessers, Moffi, Lookman, Adebayo, Saviour, Iheanacho. Expected: Uzoho, Duru.

The senior national team of Nigeria had their first training session ahead of the first of their two friendly games during the international break in Algeria.

Nigeria will play against the B team of Algeria on Friday before engaging with the main team four days later. All but two of the invited players have arrived the camp of the team aside from the duo of Ebube Duru and Francis Uzoho.

18 players took part in yesterday’s training session which was mainly done to help the players loosen up after the long trips some of them had on their way to the venue of the game in Algeria.

It started with the usual warm up drills before a short practice game on half the length of the pitch. The idea is mainly to gear the players up for what will be an intense training session later today as the first game draws near.

Yesterday coach Jose Peseiro was keen on the players playing in tight corners and keeping the ball under pressed. He made it known to them that he wants the team to be defensive by way of keeping the ball and punishing opponents in the other half.

Lorient of France forward Terem Moffi looks quite dealdy with his movement and also finishing. He was very much one of the liveliest player during the session, he is definitely sure of starting in both games.

The 18 players in the camp of the senior national team of Nigeria had their first training session yesterday ahead of the upcoming friendly games against Algeria.

The first game will be played on Friday against the B team of Algeria before playing the second game which will be four days later against the main team of the same country. Both games will be played in Oran.

Ahead of the game coach Jose Peseiro took the players on a light drill but still took out time to perfect some certain areas of concern in the team particularly in the defence. The coach gave a hint on how they will likely set up.

He was particular about a drill which includes a back four of Ola Aina, Zaidu Sanusi, Kevin Akpoguma and Calvin Bassey. Regular centre backs Kenneth Omeruo and William Troost Ekong didn’t train with the aforementioned quartet.

Much attention was on Bassey and Akpoguma which could mean the duo will likely play in the heart of the defence for Nigeria. They are the two who have enjoyed regular game time at their respective clubs since the start of the year. However they haven’t played before as a pair of Nigeria.