The senior national team of Nigeria will take on the Algeria national team in an international friendly game on the 27th of September in the newly built stadium in Oran.

Algeria were initially billed to play against the Black Stars of Ghana but after failing to find an agreement, the Algeria FA were left with either playing against Nigeria or Mali but an agreement has been reached with Nigeria.

An announcement is said to be imminent from both federations after both bodies agreed to the game. It will be the third time both countries will be up against each other in three years with Algeria winning two of the last games including the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations semi final game.

Overall they will be facing each other for the 21st time with both nations looking to rebuild after missing out on qualification for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Algeria still have head coach Djamal Belmadi at the helm despite the disappointment.

For Nigeria, the team now have a new coach in Jose Peseiro who has so far won the first two competitive games as coach after losing his first two friendly games.

The career trajectory of Nigeria international winger Samuel Chukwueze hasn’t gone the way many predicted it will go when he made his first team bow at Villarreal and also the senior national team of Nigeria.

Chukwueze was seen by many as a player who has immense ability to be in the bracket of the best players in the future. But at 23, it appears that dream won’t be a reality as he hasn’t shown the improvement many expected in key areas of his game.

However that isn’t an issue to coach of Villarreal Unai Emery who has now found the best way of getting the best out of the left footed forward by playing him as a substitute. It was the case for several games last season.

In the UEFA Champions League, he started just two games out of the nine games he played. He was subbed in seven times. Save to say it was to devastating effect as he scored the goal that knocked Bayern Munich out of the tournament.

In the La Liga, he was subbed in 15 times and he played from the start 12 times out of which he was subbed off nine times. It’s clear that he is now more suited to the role of a super sub in the eyes of the coach.

The idea we were made to believe is due to his explosiveness and direct approach which works better when opponents are tired. It makes it easier for him to use his pace and dribbling abilities to create and also score goals.

That approach is expected to continue this season and it might extend to the senior national team of Nigeria with new manager Jose Peseiro now at the helm.

He currently favours the duo of Moses Simon and Ademola Lookman ahead of Chukwueze who didn’t impress against Sierra Leone at home in Abuja in Peseiro’s first competitive game as coach.  He was subsequently not in the squad when they ran out 10-0 winners over Sao Tome and Principe in their second qualifiers game.

The joy of most parents is for their children to surpass whatever they achieved during their course of their career or life time. Particularly sports men.

A lot of ex Nigerian players who played for the Super Eagles haven’t been lucky in that regards with only a few of them having their kids follow in their footsteps at club and national team level.

That might not be the case with former Inter Milan forward Obafemi Martins, whose son Kelvin Maussi Martins has been tipped to be a better player than his father even though he is just 17 years old. He has already made a huge impression on the hierarchy at the club.

Even though he is not a striker like his father, his explosive pace on either flanks where he has played mostly has caught the eyes of a lot of watchers of the youth team of Inter Milan. Much so that Freedie Edwards sees him as a better player than his father.

” Not getting ahead of myself but the feelers around the club is that he is better player than his father. At 17 his father was already in the first team of Inter Milan but Kelvin is up there with the best of his age. I agree that he is more talented than his father. He only need to work hard to maintain his progress”, he told OwnGoalNigeria.com.

Liverpool announced the signing of 21 year old defender Oludare Olufunwa from Southampton on a free transfer following the expiration of his deal at the English Premier League side.

Olufunwa was born in England to a Nigerian father and an English mother making his eligible to represent both nations. But he is yet to be capped at any level by both countries meaning his options are wide open.

The reason isn’t far fetched at the age of 21 he is yet to have a considerable run of games at senior level under his belt. Even last season he was a regular for the Southampton U23 in the Premier League 2 for the first half of the season only. His appearances dried up in the second half of the season before it was announced that he will be leaving the team at the end of the season.

At Liverpool, Olufunwa is not seen as a signing for the first team, he arrives to play a useful role within the academy.

With Tom Clayton joining Swindon on a permanent transfer and loan deals sanctioned for both Rhys Williams (Blackpool) and Billy Koumetio (Austria Wien), there was a lack of centre-back options in the U21s squad.

Olufunwa will therefore bolster a group that also includes Jarell Quansah, 19, Lee Jones, 18, and Terence Miles, 17. At 21, it is unlikely that Olufunwa will be seen as a long-term option for the senior squad, and instead his signing may be viewed similar to those of Isaac Christie-Davies and Joe Hardy in recent years.

However, there remains a chance he could impress enough to earn a chance under Jurgen Klopp in the future, with Nat Phillips finding himself in a similar position upon his free transfer from Bolton back in 2016. If it happens he could be in for an international call up from either Nigeria or England.

A source close to the player however explained why he is more likely to pick Nigeria ahead of England, if he takes his career to the first team of Liverpool during the course of the season.

” Dare was keen on playing for the Nigeria U17 team few years ago. I think in 2015 or so but it was unfortunate that it didn’t happen. For now he has his mind on making the step up at Liverpool. That is all that matters at the moment and if it happens Nigeria will no doubt be his best option. His father will be proud if it happens for him”, he told OwnGoalNigeria.com.

Players who are out of favour in the senior national team of Nigeria continue will push for a spot in the team under new coach Jose Peseiro using their form during the course of the season.

The senior national team of Nigeria won’t play any competitive game till next year meaning they will use the international window to play several friendly games. The friendly games will no doubt open the door for new players to be handed a chance.

One player who has been pushing for a return to the team is Jamilu Collins and he started the season on a high by winning the man of the match award in his first game for his new team Cardiff City. He lost his spot in the starting lineup to Zaidu Sanusi.

The emergence of Calvin Bassey who can also play at left full back further dimmed his chances of a return and now it appears his chances will not be up for discussion as he will be out for a year after picking up an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

The 28-year-old left-back will have surgery in the next few weeks.

“We won’t see him again until next season. It is gutting for the lad, really gutting,” said Cardiff manager Steve Morison.

“We are all here for him. We are going to make the next year the best it can possibly be for him.

“It’s the worst-case scenario. The plan will be to get him back for pre-season next year. The one thing we do know when he comes back for pre-season, we will have one hell of a left-back.

“That is something everyone can look forward to next season.”

Morison has described Collins as the “best left-back” in the Championship having recruited him from Bundesliga 2 side Paderborn during the summer.

Pundits have started giving their opinions on new players in the German Bundesliga after three rounds of games into the season, which has so far seen Bayern Munich dominate as expected.

The Bavarians have scored 15 goals in just three games this season and have only conceded once. Their new signing Sadio Mane has been very instrumental in their blistering start to the season.

That isn’t the case at Hertha Berlin as their new signing Chidera Ejuke is yet to hit the ground running. He joined from Russian side CSKA Moscow where he suspended his contract owing to the war in that region as permitted by FIFA.

Ejuke has played in three competitive games for the German side and also had game time in two consecutive games in pre season before the start of the season but he is still looking for his first goal contribution.

Mathias Falk, who is a journalist and covers the German side told OwnGoalNigeria.com that he believe the 24 year old need to adapt his game to modern day demands which is centred around productivity by way of goals and assists.

” There is a player in him and that can’t be disputed. He however need to do more in terms of goals and assists. I have watched him four times and he is all about getting past his man, which isn’t bad but modern day football frowns at excessive dribbling”, he said.

” Going back to his stat at CSKA Moscow he had ten goals in two years in over 50 games and not up to five assists. That isn’t good enough for a player of his talent and my hope is for him to come good. He has what it takes but he has to grow up quick”.

Former vice captain of the senior national team of Nigeria Ogenyi Onazi is top of the names under consideration to be named as captain of the Nigerian B team.

Onazi is in the camp of the team training for the upcoming CHAN Qualifiers against Ghana after returning from a stint with Saudi Arabia side Al Adalah. He has played in the two test games the team has played so far.

Still without a substantive captain, coach of the team Salisu Yusuf is heavily considering the 29 year old AFCON 2013 winner as the captain of the team due to his leadership qualities and also experience.

A decision will be arrived at this week in order for the team to know who will lead them out when they play Ghana in the first leg billed for August 28 in Accra, with the reverse fixture scheduled for the MKO Abiola National Stadium, Abuja on September 3.

Whoever wins the games on aggregate will seal a spot at the 7th edition of the Africa Nations Championship which will be held in Algeria early next year.

The outgoing president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Amaju Pinnick appears to have picked the individuals he will be backing to succeed him as the president of the NFF.

Pinnick bowed to public pressure to shelve his rumoured third term agenda and after a failed attempt to extend his tenure till next year, he agreed for the congress of the football body to hold an elective congress next month in Edo state.

In the election which he won’t be contesting in, he has somehow reveal where his loyalty will be during the course of the poll. He has gone for his first and second vice president insisting that they are competent enough to replace him as president.

“My first and second vice Presidents are competent, and I will not leave them,”he said in an interview with Brila FM..

“Even if the next President comes from outside the current executive committee, I’ll force myself to work with him, because we are all Nigerians.”

The people he is referring to are Barrister Seyi Akinwunmi and Shehu Dikko who is presently the chairman of the League Management Company (LMC). The company responsible for organising the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).

Both men are yet to publicly indicate their interest in replacing Pinnick but per his statement it’s now a matter of when they will officially declare their intentions and not if they will. As many as twelve people are reportedly in the race to replace Pinnick.

Italian Serie A champions AC Milan are refusing to give up on signing Nigerian midfielder Raphael Onyedika from Danish side FC Midtjylland despite being told the player won’t be sold this summer.

After rejecting a bid of around €4m from AC Milan, Midtjylland director Svend Graversen insists the Danish club want to keep Raphael Onyedika at the club for one more season.

“We want to keep Onyedika for one more season,” he said, as quoted by Calciomercato.com. Other reports however has it that the Danish side want whoever is appointed as new coach to have final say on the future of the player.

Milan returned with an offer of €6.5m but that too was rejected by the Danish side who are holding for a fee in the region of €10m. Leaving a huge gap in the valuation of the player by both parties. However the player and his camp are open to the idea of joining the Serie A giant.

Some reports has it that personal terms have been agreed already and all that is left is for both teams to agree on a fee. Led by club legend and ex captain Paolo Maldini, AC Milan sees Onyedika as the like for like replacement for Franck Kessie who joined Barcelona on a free transfer at the start of the summer transfer window.

Portuguese League giants FC Porto will in the next 72 hours conclude the signing of Nigeria U20 left full back Lekan Oyedele, OwnGoalNigeria.com understands.

Already a fee has been agreed with Nigeria Professional Football League side Remo Stars for his signing. The defender is expected in Portugal today where he will undergo a routine medical before officially signing the dotted lines.

A member of the WAFU B winning Nigeria U20 team of Ladan Bosso few months ago, the left back first caught the eyes of scouts of the team when he excelled for the youth team of Remo Stars Beyond Limit at the prestigious Viareggio youth tournament.

He followed that performance up by holding his own for the Nigerian team at the U20 WAFU B Championship. He displaced the first choice left back of the team after less than a week in camp with the team. Oyedele ended up playing all of Nigeria’s games at the tournament.

We gathered he will start with the B team from where his progress will be monitored for promotion to the main team, where Nigeria international Zaidu Sanusi is presently the first choice left back.

At the B team he will be reunited with Marcus Abraham who is currently turning heads playing for the team who are campaigning in the Portuguese second division.