The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is on a collision course with their counterparts in Ghana over the allocation of tickets for the first of their two legged World Cup qualifiers playoff games.

Ahead of the first leg which will take place in Ghana on the 25th of this month, the NFF have demanded for 10,000 tickets to be distributed to fans of the Nigerian team, who will be at the stadium.

This much was made known by Ghanaian journalist Nuhu Abdul on Twitter. He further said the stadium where the game will take place can only carry a maximum of 15,000 fans.

“The Nigeria 🇳🇬 Football Federation (NFF) has requested for 10,000 tickets from the Ghana 🇬🇭 Sports Minstry ahead of the 2022 World Cup play-off 1st Leg in Cape Coast on March 25. Meanwhile the Cape Coast Stadium takes 15,000 people maximum during matches”, he posted on Twitter.

His statement means a disagreement between the football federation of both countries is brewing considering that Nigeria will host Ghana in Abuja, four days after the game in Cape Coast.

One cap Super Eagles forward Anthony Nwakaeme says he has what it takes to help Nigel get a favourable result when they play Ghana in the World Cup qualifiers playoff.

Nigeria will take on Ghana on the 25th of March in Cape Coast before playing host in Abuja on the 29th of same month. A price at the World Cup is on stake for the team who wins the tie on aggregate.

Interim coach of the Nigerian team Austine Eguavoen released a list of 32 players for the games with seven on standby but there was no spot for Nwakaeme whose last cap for Nigeria came in 2018.

In between that time he has moved from Israel to Turkish side Trabzonspor, and he is strongly part of why they are run away leaders in the Turkish League this season as he has contributed ten goals with nine assists.

Asked if he thinks he deserve a look in for the the games, Nwakaeme said without a doubt he should have been considered but said he isn’t bothered as it has been happening for a long while.

” Of course my numbers is there for all to see. I can’t say I deserve to be there ahead of the players in the list but I should have been given consideration to fight for a shirt against the others in the team”, he told OwnGoalNigeria.com.

Pressed on if he thinks he can play a role in helping the team beat Ghana he said it’s not even a thing of debate because his abilities is something that is well celebrated by fans of the clubs he has played for.

” I know what I can do and helping the team beat Ghana is what I believe I can help with. Take a look at how I am celebrated everywhere I have played in Europe.  But I am not a part of the team hence I can only wish the players selected the best of luck”, the 32 year old concluded.

A lot has been said about the Super Eagles squad of players for the two legged World Cup qualifiers playoff games against Ghana in Cape Coast and Abuja on the 25th and 29th of March respectively.

The list which was compiled by the interim coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Austine Eguavoen had 32 names of which seven where placed on standby ahead of the crunch tie.

A look at the list sometimes provides more questions than answers and when Eguavoen was questioned by a group of Nigerian journalists, he also didn’t provide enough clarity on some of the questions raised in relation to the list.

Top of it was when he inferred that the invitation of Ogenyi Onazi who plays in the Saudi Arabia second division for Al-Adalah wasn’t his idea but had to include him to pacify some interest. The interest we later found out was his assistants.

Before making the list of invited players public, Eguavoen asked his assistants to come up with a list of their own and Onazi’s name came up twice and as a show of respect decided to include him but on the standby list.

If that was done out of respect for his assistants, same can’t be said about the inclusion of three players in the team as they were imposed on the coach of the team by president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Amaju Pinnick.

Pinnick who was with the coaches during a tour of London made it know to Eguavoen that certain players should be in the list because in his words they are his boys. Eguavoen has his reservations about two of them but had to bow to his demands.

We gathered Eguavoen submitted a list of 28 players to the NFF leaving room for them to add players who are favoured by the president and it is why the list swelled to 32 names. One player in the list was also axed to the standby list with another who is on standby taking his spot in the team.

Former sports attorney general and manager Enrico Fedele says Nigeria international forward Victor Osimhen isn’t the type of striker Napoli should rely on for goals despite his impressive goals per game ratio.

This season despite missing more than three months due to a facial surgery, the record signing has scored seven goals from 18 games in the Italian Serie A. He is well on course to better his last season record of ten goals.

Speaking on the backdrop of the Nigerian failing to hit target against AC Milan last weekend when his team lost 0-1, Fedele said Osimhen doesn’t have it in him to score 20 goals a season.

In an interview with Radio Marte monitored by Owngoalnigeria.com editorial team, Fedele said Napoli should revert to their old style of play as the current system with Osimhen. He advised coach of the team Luciano Spalleti to rely more on Hirving Lozano for goals.

“Osimhen? If we have to start again we have to start again from him and from Koulibaly. He has a courageous youth but one player scores the goal. he doesn’t have it in his blood, he has scored a maximum of 14 goals per season”, he said.

”If one doesn’t have it, he doesn’t get to particular situations. He should be a great driver with someone close by who hears the goal. He can vary in attack and be of help to other attackers.

“The only one who has the goals in his legs is Lozano, we have to go back to the old restaurant where the food is good even if it is no longer what it used to be, that is Mertens. Osimhen during the race takes off the opponent but breaks down, so he shoots in an unclear manner, and he has no people accompanying him”, he rounded up on the issue .

He however said the idea of pairing Osimhen in attack with Dries Mertens is one that Spalleti should consider if they intend to keep their push for the scudetto alive. Saying the formation will help as Osimhen isn’t the type who can score 20 goals a season for the club.

Sure, I’d play with them two neighbors. Mertens is not in a moment of remarkable form but Napoli must score. Playing with the winger means giving the possibility to receive the ball on the feet and then giving the other winger a way to cross and score goals. The team was built for Osimhen believing that he was a goalscorer but he is not a 20 goal player a year despite being a great fighter”, he concluded.

Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Austine Eguavoen has defended the reason behind his decision to include Ahmed Musa in the Super Eagles squad for the World Cup qualifiers playoff games against Ghana.

They have been calls that the coach should drop the 29 year old as he isn’t adding anything meaningful to the team and these days plays bit part roles as seen during the recently concluded Africa Cup of Nations.

Musa who plays for Turkish side Fatih Karagumruk according to Eguavoen offers the team much more off the pitch than what he does on the pitch and as the captain and most capped Nigerian player he has to be let go with honour.

“Ahmed Musa has got some leadership qualities whether we like or not as well but he can always give us some good 45-60 minutes when it becomes really necessary, that is why we try to see how we can help him honourably leave the scene hopefully after the World Cup,” Eguavoen told a gathering of pressmen.

He said there is nothing unusual about the treatment Musa is getting as captain as it has always been the norms with past captains of the team when they approach the twilight of their careers.

“We are from a country that doesn’t forget tradition, we don’t forget history. These are things we did for late Keshi, 1994 he wasn’t playing but he was our leader. These are things we did for people like Peter Rufai, Joseph Yobo.

“He has agreed that after the World Cup he’s going to retire. We will still accord him that respect and honour because he’s got a major role to play in the team”, he stated.

The vice captain of the senior national team of Nigeria William Troost Ekong insist he is fit to play for the senior national team of Nigeria in their World Cup qualifiers playoff against Ghana.

Coach of Watford Roy Hodgson said in his press conference ahead of last weekend game against Arsenal that the 28 year old will be out with an unspecified injury for the foreseeable future.

“It’s a muscle strain, the same with Troost-Ekong,” said Hodgson, 74, of Sarr. “It’s going to keep them both out of the equation for the foreseeable future, but I don’t know how long exactly.

“It’s not a minor thing, it’s not a knock, both have muscle strains, and that can take anything from a week to four weeks to recover from”, he concluded.

His statement ruled Ekong out of the senior national team of Nigeria two legged playoff billed for 25th and 29th of March in Cape Coast and Abuja respectively. Ekong is however defiant that he is fit for both games.

A message from the media officer of the Super Eagles Babafemi Raji shared on a WhatsApp group also said the defender is back in training and cleared fit enough to represent Nigeria.

“BREAKING NEWS! Super Eagles defender, William Troost-Ekong now fit and cleared by Watford medical team after a mild injury. Resumed full training today. Now in good shape for the World Cup play-offs against Ghana this month”, he posted.

Hodgson will address a press conference tomorrow and many will be expecting an update on the injury status of the Nigerian who hasn’t found favour since the appointment of the English man. He is yet to play a game under the new coach.

The pitch invader who attacked Nigeria international goalkepper Maduka Okoye during the course of the Dutch Eredivisie game between Vitesse and Sparta Rotterdam has revealed the reason behind his actions.

Sparta Rotterdam were leading 1-0 away to Vitesse and with the game winding into stoppage time, Okoye who saved a penalty aside six other saves was forced to deal with a pitch invader before he was struck in the head with an object.

The incident made the referee to halt the game and Vitesse have now released a statement explaining what happened during the course of the game after identifying the spectator who invaded the pitch.

With a statement tagged “Back together to a safe and atmospheric football party’ Vitesse on their official website recants the incident.

“The absolute low point was the discontinued match against Sparta. Maduka Okoye , the keeper of the Rotterdam team, was harassed by a field stormer and not much later a cup of beer was thrown against his head. When fireworks were also thrown towards Sparta’s goal, centre referee Rob Dieperink had to call of the game and send the players in.

“The annoying thing for Vitesse is that last Friday’s pitch stormer was ‘a lost German’. ‘The clash with Sparta was overshadowed by the misbehavior of a few individuals, who ruined it for the vast majority. In some cases it is even about a loner who has never been to GelreDome. For example, think of Friday’s field stormer; a lost German, with a lost bet. Completely unaware of what damage he would cause with his action,” they statement explained further.

As part of the measures to curb the situation from happening again, the club has suspended a large number of supporters involved in the event of that day and also beef up the security all round the stadium.

Former Italian national team coach Arrigo Sacchi says Napoli need to work a system that will help their big money signing Victor Osimhen to be at his best.

Osimhen has come under fire from a section of the Italian press over his performance in the game. Even fans of Napoli are now questioning his performance especially in games against the traditional top teams in Italy.

Since his transfer, he is yet to score against Juventus, Inter Milan, AC Milan or Roma. The teams seen by many as the traditional power house of Italian football by many watchers of the Serie A.

Saachi while commenting on the recent 0-1 defeat suffered by Napoli against AC Milan said the Nigerian appeared to be doing it all by himself and despite his huge technical ability, he can’t do it alone.

“The solution of Napoli, in the end, has almost always been the pass, short or long, to Victor Osimhen who has so much courage, is fast, technically very good, but he can’t solve everything by himself”, he said after the game.

Per reports gathered by OwnGoalNigeria.com editorial team Hoffenheim defender Kevin Akpoguma has placed his international career on hold for now due to reasons best know to him.

We exclusively gathered that the defender who has four caps for Nigeria isn’t keen on earning any further caps but his decision is totally unrelated to the departure of coach Gernot Rohr. It was Rohr who convinced him to switch nationality to Nigeria after representing Germany at various youth levels.

Rohr’s departure aside, sources close to present Super Eagles coach Austine Eguavoen said Akpoguma turned down the chance to be a part of the sqaud for the Africa Cup of Nations, when contacted to replace the injured Leon Balogun.

He was unhappy that he was initially dropped from the list and was only considered because of the unavailability of Balogun. Semi Ajayi was later called upon to replace Balogun and he accepted the call up despite the lateness.

Ajayi’s decision has cement his spot in the mind of Eguavoen who was also impressed with his performance when he got the chance to play at the tournament. Hence his decision to keep Akpoguma out of the squad for the World Cup qualifiers playoff games against Ghana.

Akpoguma can easily pass as the most consistent Nigerian defender this season with as many as 19 appearances to his name for 4th placed Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga. Only William Troost Ekong of struggling Watford comes close with 16 appearances in the English Premier League.