Southampton defender Mohammed Salisu has turned down the offer to return to the Black Stars of Ghana for their World Cup 2022 playoff game against Nigeria in March.

President of Ghana Professional Football League side King Faisal Alhaji Grusah said he was tasked with having a chat with the defender over a return to the team after a poor performance at the AFCON, where they crash out in the group stage.

Speaking on Antinka FM, Grusah said he made contact with Salisu but was told by the defender that he isn’t in anyway interested in a return. Something he said angrily and that he isn’t alone as per players who want to turn their back on the team.

“The Black Stars Chairman tasked me to speak to Salisu cos he’s from Kumasi. I called his dad and he linked me to him. Salisu flatly told me to stay away from his matter. He questioned me that if he was my son,would I advise him to play for Ghana”, Grusah told Atinka FM according to a tweet by Nuhu Adams on Twitter.

“I’m not the only person who has spoken to him. I know CK Akunnor went to him, he said he won’t play. Even the GFA President said he found where his mother stays and went to her. I don’t know what happened but the Salisu is not ready to play”, he concluded.

The interim coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Austine Eguavoen has announced that he is quitting his role as coach of the team following the 0-1 defeat they suffered against Tunisia in the round of 16 at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Eguavoen made the announcement shortly after the game, confirming that he will be returning to his role as Technical Director of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) as agreed before he took over the job as interim coach.

“What happens next is that; I’m the interim coach and Technical Director of the NFF, I will go back to my position and allow the Federation make a decision on the way forward”, he said at the post match presser.

Already Portuguese coach Jose Peseiro has been announced as coach of the team by the NFF and he is expected to take over as coach after the Africa Cup of Nations.

More details later.

Super Eagles of Nigeria have been in the limelight for the past few weeks over their continuous victory in the stage matches. They have also faced downsides like having an injured defender miss the tournament. Super Eagles have emerged winners in the previous 3 matches since the AFCON resumed.

The team has made Nigeria proud, and we can without a doubt agree that the boys are determined to acquire the glorious title of the TotalEnergies Champions. As MTN Nigeria comments, the team has what it takes to make it to the finals and even win. One evident thing is the much support the team has received and continues to receive from its country, from the President to football fans.

Nigerians love football and sports betting which makes the country the second most popular gambling nation in Africa. As such, it’s a season for punters to try their luck as the Super Eagles continue to deliver clean wins in the AFCON.

The love for football, a winning national team, and a secure bookie is all a punter needs for such a season. Sportsbooks have made it’s their pursuit to ensure Nigerians keep winning all the way. Now you can win while supporting your national team throughout the AFCON tournament.

The secret is to arm yourself with the best betting sites in Nigeria and wager on the team you think will win the match or the possible outcome among other markets. Super Eagles have won all the previous matches and have 9 points.

Their next game is against Tunisia on Sunday 23rd, and despite all the surprises football pulls on us, the odds that Super Eagles win against Tunisia, who have only three points from their stage matches, are high. Should the game take a different turn, go for in-play betting, where you can change your bet depending on the progress of the match. So, let’s take a look at the history of the Super Eagles in the AFCON.

Super Eagle’s History in the AFCON

The best way to learn your enemy or understand your favorite team is to learn their history. This way you get to know what they are capable of. Now that the tournament ends with only one winner, it’s worth noting that so far, Cameroon has the highest score. If Nigeria’s Super Eagles hope to win, they have to beat them at the top.

Well, this should be tough considering that the three times Super Eagles acquired the runner’s up position, they had lost to Cameroon. In 2000, 1988, and 1984, both teams made it to the finals and Super Eagles lost. The two have a quite bitter history, and the question that lingers on every football fan’s mind is if Nigeria can beat Cameroon should they meet once again in the finals.

Here’s a summary of the Super Eagles performance in AFCON 2021;

On 23rd January 2022, Super Eagles will face Tunisia in their round of 16 match. As mentioned earlier, the Super Eagles might win, given the current performance of the Tunisian AFCON team. Super Eagles manager Augustine Eguavoen tells the guardian that they are more than ready to emerge victorious against the North African team as they did with the previous teams.

Super Eagles’ AFCON journey

Super Eagles are three-time winners in AFCON tournaments and their journey has not been an easy one. They have lost, canceled their participation but also won. Here’s a summary of their performance throughout the history of AFCON;

Super Eagles have encountered Cameroon (the current top team) before, and the worst memory is in 2000 when Cameroon beat them on their soil. Perhaps, it is time Naija boys retaliated and defeated the indomitable lions on their soil. All that remains now is for the Super Eagles to win against Tunisia to make it to the quarter-finals. Again, after winning against Cameroonian giants, Cottonsport, 2-0 in the warm-up match just before AFCON kicked off, Super Eagles are now more than ever confident they can win the Total Energies title.

Coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Austine Eguavoen has revealed the starting lineup for Nigeria’s round of 16 game against Tunisia at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Eguavoen was largely expected to make some changes to the lineup despite the fact that he has stuck to same players bar when he rested players in their third group game against Guinea-Bissau.

The coach tinkered with what looks like his preferred lineup during yesterday’s training with Samuel Chukwueze who hasn’t lit up the tournament as expected replaced by Everton forward Alex Iwobi.

Iwobi started and lasted the entire duration of the win over Guinea-Bissau. He has however dropped to the bench as Eguavoen has decided to stick to same lineup that started the first two games of the tournament.

Starting XI

Maduka Okoye
Ola Aina
Zaidu Sanusi
William Troost Ekong
Kenneth Omeruo
Wilfred Ndidi
Joe Aribo
Kelechi Iheanacho
Samuel Chukwueze
Moses Simon
Taiwo Awoniyi

Nigeria will take on Tunisia in today’s Africa Cup of Nations round of 16 game, a game they go in as favourite owing to how they finished the group stage by winning all of their games.

Ahead of the game , the team had their final training session under the guidance of interim coach of the Austine Eguavoen who was drafted in from his role as technical director following the sacking of Gernot Rohr as coach.

Eguavoen yesterday showed his willingness to shake things up as he tried several tactical drills using different formations all in a bid to go past Tunisia by 8pm later today.

The coach showed he is no a slave to the 4-2-3-1 formation the team have been using in games although they do alternate to 4-2-4 and sometimes 4-1-3-2. A new formation was tried out yesterday.

Also the team took out time to practice penalty kicks in the event that the game get dragged into shoot out. A session for endurance was also a part of the drill in anticipation of the game probably going into extra time.

The senior national team of Nigeria will later today by 8pm take on Tunisia in the round of 16 at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.

Ahead of the game, the team had their last training session yesterday and coach Austine Eguavoen gave a hint on how the team will be lined up for the game with Nigeria rated as the favourite to win.

Eguavoen maintained same lineup for the first two games but had to rest players for the third game after securing passage to the round of 16. He brought in as many as seven new players into the starting lineup.

Tipped to return to the lineup that won the games against Egypt and Sudan respectively, the coach is however yet to make a decision on starting Villarreal winger Samuel Chukwueze.

Chukwueze was subbed off in the first game , subbed off in the second game ay half time despite getting one of the three goals that handed Nigeria a 3-1. We gathered he was close to dropping out of the lineup for that game but some senior players intervened.

He was rested in the third game with Alex Iwobi taking his position on the right and per yesterday’s session, Eguavoen tried the Everton man in that role and will likely stick to him for the game.

A decision on his spot in the starting lineup will be made by 2pm today when the lineup will be made known to the players.

The senior national team of Nigeria have rounded up preparations for their round of 16 game against Tunisia at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Coach of the Nigerian team Austin Eguavoen had the players in a one hour plus training session where drills were perfected ahead of tomorrow’s game with all players in attendance.

One thing we noticed in during the preparation for the game was the lining up of Alex Iwobi in the number ten role as said by his uncle Austine Okocha after the game against Guinea-Bissau.

Okocha opined that the Everton man did a lot better when he played in the role in the final ten minute of the 2-0 win over Guinea-Bissau as opposed to how he started the game on the right side.

Iwobi also sounded in same line after the game and it appears it has now forced Eguavoen into handing him a chance in that role base on what the team did during today’s training session as exclusively gathered by this portal.

However it’s still unclear if he will start tomorrow’s game as the coach is yet to decide on his starting lineup for the game which will be played at 8pm Nigerian time.

Almeria of Spain striker Sadiq Umar has been told by coach of the Nigerian team Austine Eguavoen that he is an important player in his team and he believe he can score goals.

Sadiq scored in the Super Eagles final group game against Guinea-Bissau which ended in a 2-0 win for Nigeria to help them maintain their 100 percent record by winning all of their three group games.

Ahead of the round of 16 game against Tunisia, Eguavoen in the presser said the 24 year old has the ability to score goals as seen in his club and that makes him an important player in the team.

“Sadiq Umar has scored so many numbers of goals in his club side and I believe if he remain calm he will score more goals and get better. Sadiq Umar is an important part of the team”, he said.

He revealed he had talks with the player where he reassured him that he has faith in him and urged him to remain calm. “I had a long time talking to him in our training yesterday, I told him to remain calm and assured him of my believe in him”, he stated .

Coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Austine Eguavoen says the team plays as a collective unit instead of relying on individuals as they get set for the AFCON 2021 round of 16 game against Tunisia.

Eguavoen’s team has emerged as one of the best at the tournament by winning all of their group games with Moses Simon the shinning light of the team after three games.

Eguavoen was however quick to play down the impact of the Nantes forward while explaining how they intend to approach tomorrow’s game, and he also defended Sadiq Umar who hasn’t had the best of tournament but did score in the 2-0 win over Guinea-Bissau.

He said the Almeria forward shouldn’t be singled out for criticism as they play as a team and it’s same approach that they will use in tomorrow’s game against Tunisia.

“Thank God we have somebody who is very exciting. You mean Moses Simon like you also said the team is working as a team. We don’t want to focus on individual players. My answer to one of you on Sadiq is it’s a team game not an individual game”, the coach said at press match conference.

“So when you have the chance to score then score. When you have the chance to assist you should assist. So it’s same message to Simon, Ndidi, Ekong and to everyone. There is no special tactic or strategy. It’s the same way we approach the entire games”.

Leicester City and Nigeria international midfielder Wilfred Ndidi has given his opinion on the difference in approach between ex coach of Super Eagles Gernot Rohr and present coach Austine Eguavoen.

Eguavoen was handed the rein in interim capacity with the job of handling the team for the Africa Cup of Nations before handing over to Portuguese coach Jose Peseiro who was announced as the substantive coach of the Super Eagles. He will take over after the AFCON.

The Super Eagles under Eguavoen have so far impressed by winning all of their games at the tournament with a brand of football that many see as the best the team have played in recent years. It has also led to talks of handing the job to Eguavoen on a permanent base.

Ndidi who was a part of the team under Rohr was asked about the major difference in the team to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations under the German and the one at the ongoing 2021 delayed Africa Cup of Nations.

“The difference between this team and the team from 2019 is that this coach gave us the push and freedom to express ourselves”, he said at the pre match conference ahead of tomorrow’s round of 16 game against Tunisia.