As  many as 22 players are now in the camp of the senior national team of Nigeria in preparation for the 2021 Africa cup of Nations in Cameroon.

Eight players named in the 28 man list of the team arrived their camp in Abuja ahead of today’s training session which will be held in the evening at the Moshood Abiola stadium.

The players are Wilfred Ndidi, Alex Iwobi, Ola Aina, William Troost Ekong, Semi Ajayi, Kenneth Omeruo, Kelechi Nwakali and Frank Onyeka.

As at the time of filing in this report, six players are still expected in camp ahead of the departure of the team to Cameroon tomorrow to step up preparation for their opening game against Egypt on the 11th of January.

*In camp now*
*Goalkeepers: Francis Uzoho (AC Omonia, Cyprus); John Noble (Enyimba FC); Daniel Akpeyi (Kaizer Chiefs, South Africa); Maduka Okoye (Sparta Rotterdam, The Netherlands)
*
Defenders: Chidozie Awaziem (Alanyaspor FC, Turkey); Kenneth Omeruo (CD Leganes, Spain); Oluwasemilogo Ajayi (West Bromwich Albion, England); William Ekong (Watford FC, England); Olaoluwa Aina (Torino FC, Italy); Zaidu Sanusi (FC Porto, Portugal); Olisa Ndah (Orlando Pirates, South Africa)

Midfielders: Frank Onyeka (Brentford FC, England); Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City, England); Chidera Ejuke (CSKA Moscow, Russia); Kelechi Nwakali (SD Huesca, Spain)

Forwards: Ahmed Musa (Fatih Karagumruk, Turkey); Henry Onyekuru (Olympiacos FC, Greece); Moses Simon (FC Nantes, France); Sadiq Umar (UD Almeria, Spain); Taiwo Awoniyi (Union Berlin, Germany);  Alex Iwobi (Everton FC, England);  Peter Olayinka (SK Slavia Praha, Czech Republic)

*Expected*
*Jamilu Collins (SC Padeborn 07, Germany); Tyrone Ebuehi (Venezia FC, Italy); Joseph Ayodele-Aribo (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland); Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal FC, Spain); Odion Jude Ighalo (Al-Shabab Riyadh, Saudi Arabia); Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City, England);

The Super Eagles of Nigeria is facing the prospect of a crisis in defence ahead of their first game at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon against Egypt, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Already the duo of Leon Balogun and William Troost Ekong won’t be continuing their Oyibo Wall partnership with the former ruled out of the tournament due to injury. He has since been replaced by Semi Ajayi of English Championship side West Bromwich Albion.

Another player in Chidozie Awaziem is battling to be fit for the tournament as he is also recovering from a harmstring injury which has kept him out of action for three weeks, he missed the last two games of his team in Turkey.

Awaziem also trained separately today during the course of the Super Eagles training session in Abuja, yesterday he also had individual training making him a huge doubt for the Super Eagles opening game against Egypt on the 11th of January.

Reports from Spain monitored by OwnGoalNigeria.com editorial team also has it that Leganes defender Kenneth Omeruo has tested positive for Covid-19, which is why he wasn’t listed yesterday in their 0-1 loss to Real Valladolid.

His case isn’t confirmed yet but sources in Spain are saying he could be out of the tournament if he doesn’t test negative in four days time when another test is expected to be carried out.

Al Shabab of Saudi Arabia forward Odion Ighalo won’t be allowed to play for Nigeria at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

The Saudi Arabia outfit have refused to honour the request of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) inviting the forward for the tournament insisting that they got his invitation letter late.

However Ighalo is pushing the club to allow him team up with the Super Eagles before the team departs for Cameroon but as at the time of filing in this report, there is no breakthrough yet in their discussion.

In a bid not to be caught unaware, we gathered the technical crew led by interim coach Austine Eguavoen have already contacted a likely replacement as talks with Al Shabab appears not to be progressing as expected.

Ighalo is however confident that he will be at the tournament, but the technical crew are skeptical hence their decision to contact a replacement which we gather is one among the trio of Akinkumi Amoo, Isaac Success and Simy Nwankwo.

A deadline for Ighalo to be in the camp of the team have been set but it wasn’t made known to us as at the end of today’s training session at the Moshood Abiola stadium.

The senior national team of Nigeria had their second training at the Moshood Abiola stadium as they step up preparation for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.

Despite not having the full compliment of all players invited for the tournament, interim coach Austine Eguavoen put their players through their paces in mostly fitness drills.

Eguavoen had the players warmed up handled by assistant coach Joseph Yobo and it lasted for around 15 minutes with several drills conditioned to prepare them for the rest of the session.

A session with 13 players getting involved in a passing drill in a close area of the pitch was held with one player in Chidozie Awaziem training separately from the rest of the team.

It appears the Alanyaspor defender is carrying a knock picked up from yesterday’s session. He had an hour plus session with the physio before the end of the training session.

They will have another training session tomorrow ahead of their departure to Cameroon on Thursday for their first group game against Egypt on the 11th of January.

Saudi Arabia outfit Al Shabab says Nigerian forward Odion Ighalo won’t be permitted to join up with the senior national team of Nigeria ahead of their campaign at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

The club have already informed Ighalo of their decision to hold on to him during the AFCON period using the late arrival of his invitation letter from the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) as their excuse.

They claimed they didn’t receive his invitation letter within the days stipulated by FIFA for clubs to be notified about their players going away for a tournament with their national team.

Their excuse is similar to the one given by English Premier League side Watford on another Nigerian player in Emmanuel Dennis before the player decided not to honour the call up. Like Dennis, it’s now up to Ighalo to decide if he wants to be at the tournament or not.

We gathered the club who are pushing for the league title as they second on the log are open to the idea of Ighalo leaving if he insist despite the fact that he is their leading top scorer with ten goals in 14 games this season.

How will Nigeria fare in this upcoming Cup of Nations? We took a closer look at their history in the tournament and their chances this time around here.

With the Cup of Nations rolling around again, it is only a matter of time until we see how Nigeria might fare. In this tournament, it is not unusual to see them pull ahead of the competition, so it would be fantastic to see them continue this trend. Let’s take a closer look at how we could expect them to so in one of Africa’s biggest football tournaments.

The Cup of Nations

Anyone used to checking out the latest football betting odds for the African countries will often find Nigeria ranked quite highly. Out of the many teams on the continent, it is not too much of a stretch to say that they are one of the best. This can clearly be seen in their performance at the Cup of Nations thus far.

They have collected three titles in this tournament – in 1980, 1994, and most recently in 2013. Along with this, they have collected a range of third place and runner up titles. It is clear that they are able to offer some good competition for any team that they might face throughout this tournament. This is an international competition in which they are comfortable and they know how to win. Though one might think that this could lead to complacency, it could also lead to some fantastic results.

A Good Group Stage

Nigeria has been placed in Group D for the opening rounds. This will see them face Egypt, Sudan, and Guinea-Bissau. We predict that Nigeria will have no trouble making it out of the group, it all depends on whether they do so in first or second place.

Egypt is another one of the big African footballing teams. Led by Mo Salah, one of the many players coming over from the English Premier League, we can expect them to offer quite a bit of resistance to Nigeria’s trajectory. The two countries have 15 semi-final appearances each, but Egypt does have more crowns at the Cup of Nations overall. Of course, this means nothing on the pitch itself, so we could see Nigeria pull out a win against them. With without stars of their own like Victor Osimhen who is unavailable as he is recovering from a facial injury. All pressure will be on Wilfred Ndidi to help cement their footing to make it out of the group.

A Fight for a Fourth Title

Once out of the group stages, Nigeria will still have a long battle ahead of them. There is some real talent in African football at the moment and we will no doubt get to see the best of the best playing out in this tournament.

Cameroon has been tipped as a team to watch. They are hosting this Cup, and are facing Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, and the Cape Verde Islands. We can expect them to make it onto the round of 16 and potentially even further, so there is a chance that they will be able to offer real competition later on. We also can’t rule out Algeria. They should be able to make it through a group composed of Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, and Equatorial Guinea, and on to the rest of the competition.

Will Nigeria Come Out on Top?

With focus and the right drive, there is no reason why we could not see Nigeria coming out on top once more. They are in a great group, and they should be able to deliver some great results no matter which teams they come up against. Though some of the competition is likely to be very strong this year, we can fully expect Nigeria to rise to meet this challenge. Following their progress, hopefully to the latter stages of the Cup of Nations, should help to show why this is known as the beautiful game.

Coach of Watford Claudio Ranieri has explained that the decision of Emmanuel Dennis to pull out of the squad of the senior national team of Nigeria for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

He revealed that the board of Watford and that of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) held talks over the release of the player for the tournament which starts in January.

As first reported by this portal one month ago, the forward who has seven goals for Watford this season in the English Premier League isn’t keen on representing Nigeria at the AFCON after a fall out with ex coach Gernot Rohr.

He had issues with the coach after the 4-4 draw against Sierra Leone during the course of the qualifiers for the Africa Cup of Nations. Rohr still included him in his preliminary list for the tournament on account of his form before he was sacked.

According to Ranieri, as much as Dennis wanted to play for Nigeria at the tournament, the forward who is the top scorer of the English Premier League side also saw the need to help Watford more appealing. Hence his decision.

Ranieri said the issue was now resolved and that the player was now focused on Watford’s relegation battle.

“I knew they were speaking the board and Nigerian board and I accept every decision they find, for me it’s finished,” he said.

“They have a lot of players and they changed the manager and they changed everything. We were ready to give them the players, but they didn’t do this. The two boards spoke and for me it’s okay, I’m only the coach and I accept everything.

Asked if the club were being disrespectful towards the international tournament, Ranieri simply said: “No. We respect everybody.”

Emmanuel Dennis asked to be left out of the Super Eagles squad for the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations after coach Austine Eguavoen refuse to give him assurances that he will be a regular for the Super Eagles, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Although Dennis invitation came a bit late but it wasn’t entirely the reason why Watford refused to let him leave for the tournament starting in January in Cameroon.

Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) upon receiving a response from Watford that they got his pre invitation for the tournament late sort to hear from the player over his commitment before their next line of action.

Dennis made it known to the NFF that he will only push to be released for the tournament if the interim coach of the team guarantee him a starting spot in all of the games at the tournament.

He said he is sure of getting games at Watford during the time of the Africa Cup of Nations hence won’t want a situation where he will be on the bench for the Super Eagles during the tournament.

Eguavoen refuse to commit to such an agreement insisting that he has to fight for a starting spot like every other player in the team. Dennis at that point opt to be allowed to remain with Watford and his wish was granted.

As first reported by this portal one month ago, the forward who has seven goals for Watford this season in the English Premier League isn’t keen on representing Nigeria at the AFCON after a fall out with ex coach Gernot Rohr.

He had issues with the coach after the 4-4 draw against Sierra Leone during the course of the qualifiers for the Africa Cup of Nations. Rohr still included him in his preliminary list for the tournament on account of his form before he was sacked.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has made further changes to the Super Eagles squad for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations starting in January.

As first reported by this portal, Henry Onyekuru was drafted in for Victor Osimhen but that isn’t the only change made to the squad as the trio of Watford Emmanuel Dennis, Cyprus based Shehu Abdullahi and Leon Balogun have also pull out of the squad for various reasons.

Below is the explanation given by the NFF on the absence of the quartet and the decision to call up replacements for them in Semi Ajayi, Tyrone Ebuehi, Peter Olayinka and the aforementioned

Lively forward Victor Osimhen’s positive test to the coronavirus pandemic a couple of days ago and injury to the versatile Abdullahi Shehu have constrained changes to Nigeria’s final 28-man list for the 33rd Africa Cup of Nations starting in Cameroon next weekend.

The goalkeeping department is untouched, but the forced exclusion of Cyprus –based Shehu, who can slot easily into sections of the defence and midfield, has made way for hard-as-nails right back Tyrone Ebuehi, now with Venezia in the Italian Serie A, and England –based Oluwasemilogo Ajayi returns to the group for Africa’s flagship football championship following injury to centre-back Leon Balogun. Ajayi can also play as a midfielder.

Osimhen’s absence paves way for Greece-based Henry Onyekuru who was also at the last finals in Egypt. In-form rapid raider Emmanuel Dennis, whose English Premiership club is baring fangs, has been excused to provide room for Czech Republic –based forward Peter Olayinka.

The 33rd Africa Cup of Nations finals will end on 6th February.

SUPER EAGLES’ SQUAD FOR 33RD AFCON CAMEROON 2021

Goalkeepers: Francis Uzoho (AC Omonia, Cyprus); John Noble (Enyimba FC); Daniel Akpeyi (Kaizer Chiefs, South Africa); Maduka Okoye (Sparta Rotterdam, The Netherlands)

Defenders: Chidozie Awaziem (Alanyaspor FC, Turkey); Kenneth Omeruo (CD Leganes, Spain); Oluwasemilogo Ajayi (West Bromwich Albion, England); William Ekong (Watford FC, England); Olaoluwa Aina (Torino FC, Italy); Jamilu Collins (SC Padeborn 07, Germany); Tyrone Ebuehi (Venezia FC, Italy); Zaidu Sanusi (FC Porto, Portugal); Olisa Ndah (Orlando Pirates, South Africa)

Midfielders: Frank Onyeka (Brentford FC, England); Joseph Ayodele-Aribo (Galsgow Rangers, Scotland); Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City, England); Chidera Ejuke (CSKA Moscow, Russia); Kelechi Nwakali (SD Huesca, Spain)

Forwards: Ahmed Musa (Fatih Karagumruk, Turkey); Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal FC, Spain); Henry Onyekuru (Olympiacos FC, Greece); Moses Simon (FC Nantes, France); Sadiq Umar (UD Almeria, Spain); Taiwo Awoniyi (Union Berlin, Germany); Odion Jude Ighalo (Al-Shabab Riyadh, Saudi Arabia); Alex Iwobi (Everton FC, England); Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City, England); Peter Olayinka (SK Slavia Praha, Czech Republic)

On loan Monaco forward Henry Onyekuru has been called up as a replacement for Napoli forward Victor Osimhen in the squad of the senior national team of Nigeria for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

Reports from the media in Greece has it that Onyekuru was handed a call up to the Nigerian team as a replacement for Osimhen who is still recuperating from a facial injury.

Aside the injury, the 23 year old also tested positive for Covid 19 which will require a seven days isolation period ahead of the start of the tournament in Cameroon in ten days time.

Already Napoli doctor Gianpaolo Tartaro who oeprated the forward has said the recovery date for him still remains 90 days making him unavailable to play for Nigeria at the tournament.

“For the formation of the callus bone, according to world protocols, it takes from sixty to ninety days. Unless a biological miracle,” the plastic surgeon told Corriere Dello Sport, as per Tutto Napoli.

“If he does not do the CT scan, we will not be able to dissolve the prognosis. Reduced fractures must consolidate: I repeat, for the formation of the callus, you have to wait two or three months unless a Christmas biological miracle: but biology is not a fan.”

The technical crew of the team led by interim coach Austine Eguavoen will now have to prepare for the tournament without Osimhen who was the top scorer for the team during the qualifiers.

For now Almeria striker Sadiq Umar is favourite to lead the line for the Nigerian team according to sources with the lanky striker arriving the camp of the team earlier today. He however faces stiff competition from Taiwo Awoniyi of Bundesliga side Union Berlin who is also in camp.