The provisional list of Super Eagles players for the Africa Cup of Nations submitted to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) by ex coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr before his sacked has been leaked to OwnGoalNigeria.com.

Rohr as first confirmed by this portal revealed he has already submitted a provisional list of 37 players to CAF for the Africa Cup of Nations before he was relieved off his duties as coach of the team.

“We put our list together of 37 players before [Nov. 16]. The job has been done until the letter last Friday [Dec. 10]”, Rohr revealed while speaking on his departure as coach of the Nigerian team.

Sources close to the coach have leaked the names submitted by the coach and it has three new players in Leicester City Ademola Lookman and Ovie Ejaria of Reading both players only recently switched allegiance to Nigeria from England, where they were youth internationals.

There was also a first time call up for Nigeria U17 winger Akinkumi Amoo of Swedish side Hammarby and also a return to the team for Watford of England rave of the moment Emmanuel Dennis.

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

Defenders: Chidozie Awaziem (Alanyaspor FC, Turkey); Kenneth Omeruo (CD Leganes, Spain); Leon Balogun (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland); William Ekong (Watford FC, England); Olaoluwa Aina (Torino FC, Italy); Jamilu Collins (SC Paderborn 07, Germany); Abdullahi Shehu (AC Omonia, Cyprus); Zaidu Sanusi (FC Porto, Portugal); Kevin Akpoguma (TSG Hoffenheim, Germany), Adekunle Adeleye (Enyimba), Calvin Bassey (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland), Tyronne Ebuehi (Venezia, Italy).

Midfielders: Frank Onyeka (Brentford FC, England); Joseph Ayodele-Aribo (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland); Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City, England); Alex Iwobi (Everton FC, England); Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City, England), Innocent Bonke (Malmo, Sweden) Ovie Ejaria ( Reading, England)

Forwards: Ahmed Musa (Fatih Karagumruk, Turkey); Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal FC, Spain); Victor Osimhen (Napoli FC, Italy); Moses Simon (FC Nantes, France); Paul Onuachu (KRC Genk, Belgium); Chidera Ejuke (CSKA Moscow, Russia); Odion Jude Ighalo (Al-Shabab Riyadh, Saudi Arabia), Emmanuel Dennis (Watford), Ademola Lookman (Leicester City), Akinkumi Amoo (Hammarby, Sweden), Samuel Kalu (Bordeaux, France), Taiwo Awoniyi (Union Berlin, Germany ), Terem Moffi ( Lorient, France), Sadiq Umar (Almeria, Spain).

The favourite to be named coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro has put on hold talks with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) until he gets to hear from sacked coach of the team Gernot Rohr.

OwnGoalNigeria.com exclusively gathered that the ex coach of the national team of Venezuela want to first of all speak with Rohr who managed the team for five years before committing himself to the Nigerian team.

His reason is mainly because of the way his former job as coach of Venezuela ended where he was owed for 12 months, something that Rohr also endured all through his stay as coach of the Super Eagles.

Peseiro we gathered has also demanded for a three months salary advance which coincides with the end of the 2022 World Cup play off which will take place in March next year.

His wages will be handled by the Federal Government of Nigeria per an agreement reached between the minister for Youth and Sports with the NFF following the sacking of Rohr as coach.

Interim coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Austine Eguavoen has revealed that he will include Huesca midfielder Kelechi Nwakali in his squad base on one key condition.

Eguavoen confirmed the Super Eagles provisional list of players for the Africa Cup of Nations has been submitted already by his predecessor Gernot Rohr without Nwakali’s name.

He however said he is looking at the possibility of adding the midfielder alongside others if CAF permits altering of the list submitted by Rohr as stipulated by the rule governing the tournament.

“I just said if time permits, if it is permitted to alter the list, I’ll bring in two or three players but I have to speak with the federation first and then they will contact CAF, if it is possible”, he told Bunmi Blair of Nigerian InfoFM.

“Yes but as we speak right now, myself and Kelechi we spoke, but he is not on that list that was submitted to CAF. If there is a possibility, yes I like the kid”, he concluded.

Napoli forward Victor Osimhen has announced his readiness to represent Nigeria for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations starting in Cameroon on the 9th of January, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Osimhen recently returned from a facial injury which required surgery and upon his return to contact training with a special protective face mask, he took to Twitter to announce his readiness to represent Nigeria.

“I will be available for AFCON💯unless if am not among the players picked to represent NIGERIA”, he posted on Twitter.

His announcement will no doubt gladden the heart of fans and the interim coach of the Super Eagles Austine Eguavoen as he now has on authority the presence of the first choice striker of the team.

Same can’t be said about Napoli who would have loved the forward to skip the tournament in order to be fully fit for their engagements in January as they bid to sustain a title charge where they are currently trailing league leaders and defending champions Inter Milan.

Rangers of international right full back and captain Tope Olusesi is among the list of players interim coach of the Super Eagles Austine Eguavoen wants to add to the squad of the team for the Africa Cup of Nations, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

We gathered he is among the five names Eguavoen is hoping to add to the 37 man list already submitted to CAF by sacked coach of the Super Eagles Gernot Rohr two weeks before he was relieved of his job as exclusively reported by this portal.

25 year old Olusesi is the only outfield player from the Nigeria Professional Football League who is under consideration for a spot in the squad by Eguavoen as Rohr already has goalkepper John Noble from Enyimba on his initial list.

However just like the other names proposed by the coach to be added to the list, the NFF need to be given a waiver by CAF in order to be able to add players to the provisional list with the Cup of Nations set to begin in about three weeks time.

The other names we gathered are Kelechi Nwakali of Huesca, Akinkumi Amoo of Swedish side Hammarby, Alhassan Yusuf of Belgium side Antwerp and Usman Mohammed of Israeli side Hapoel Hadera.

Genk of Belgium forward Paul Onuachu won’t be a part of the Super Eagles squad for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations after picking up an injury yesterday while on club duty.

27 year old Onuachu who finished as Genk’s top scorer last season found the back of the net yesterday in their 1-1 draw against Antwerp before going off injured with what his coach said is a muscle injury.

“It’s a muscle tear”, the German sighed. I already had the impression that he was tired. When I asked how it went, he told me he could continue playing. I expect we will miss him for the next three to four weeks,” said Bernd Storck.

The length of time he will be out means he is effectively out of the Nigerian team for the Africa Cup of Nations which starts in January. He is expected to recover when the tournament is already in full swing.

A peripheral figure for the Super Eagles since breaking into the team in 2019, he however maintained the trust and love of former coach Gernot Rohr . It’s unclear how he will fit into the new Super Eagles set up following the exit of the German.

Nigeria will next week name Portuguese coach Jose Peseiro as the new coach of the senior national team ahead of the start of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Following a lead by the print edition of Nigeria’s foremost sports tabloid Sportinglife, our editorial team set out to confirm the report and were told that the coach who is presently in charge of Venezuela will be named coach of the Super Eagles.

He is expected in Nigeria next week alongside the coach of Roma Jose Mourinho who recommended him to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). The NFF have offered to foot the bills of Mourinho.

Peseiro won’t be in charge of the Super Eagles for the Africa Cup of Nations but he will be in Cameroon to observe and work with the team from a distance before taking over for the World Cup qualifiers play off.

Terms of his deal will be wrapped up this week ahead of the unveiling next week and it see present interim coach Austine Eguavoen return back to his role as technical director of the NFF immediately after the AFCON.

Furthermore, the NFF have also shortlisted two other coaches in the event of failing to reach an agreement with 61 year old Peseiro who has also worked as coach of Saudi Arabia and was Mourinho’s assistant at Real Madrid.

Sacked coach of the Super Eagles of Nigeria Gernot Rohr says his replacement Austine Eguavoen was appointed as technical director of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) a year ago with the aim of replacing him as coach in the future.

Rohr was sacked on Friday with Eguavoen stepping up from his role as technical director to becoming the interim coach of the team as they step up preparation for the Africa Cup of Nations.

Speaking on his replacement, Rohr in an interview with Colin Udoh published by ESPN said he saw it coming when the former Super Eagles defender was appointed as technical director.

“I think they already had this prepared. They brought the new coach [Eguavoen] one year ago, so he could have a look. He would ask for the technical reports because he was Technical Director and Paul [Aigbogun], his assistant, was doing for me the work of scouting the opponents”, he said.

He however said he want the team to do well at the AFCON for the sake of the players he worked with and also hope they qualify for the 2022 World Cup where they are through to the playoff.

“But I wish them all the best because I want my players to succeed, to win the AFCON. I want Nigeria to go to the World Cup, and I’m sure that they will”.

Sacked coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr says he will be willing to coach the Super Eagles of Nigeria again despite the nature of his exit from the team.

The coach was unceremoniously sacked from his role last week despite meeting all of the targets set for him by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

Rohr however said if offered the chance to coach Nigeria again he will no doubt jump at it due to the love he has for the country and its football loving population.

“I learned to love Nigeria, because it’s a country of passion, a country of good people. Like everywhere, there are good people, and me, I remember only the good people. And that’s why, why not?”,he told Colin Udoh in an interview on ESPN.

On the issue of his sack, he said he still has a valid contract hence he will be paid for a year by the NFF in addition to the salaries he is owed before he was sacked.

“My contract is running until the end of next year, and the contract has been broken. And now I’m waiting not only for the [unpaid] salaries but also for the salaries until the end of the contract. This should now be handled by my lawyer. He will do everything for me. I’m outside now of these questions. The legal situation must be cleared”.

Head coach of English Premier League side Watford Claudio Ranieri says there is more to his team than Nigeria international forward Emmanuel Dennis despite his fine form.

24 year old Dennis has scored seven and also provided five assists in fifteen games this season as Watford struggle to maintain their Premier League status following promotion from the English Championship.

The Nigerian is seen by many as the driving force of the team as they battle to remain in the top flight but Ranieri believe his team is not reliant on the Nigerian saying Dennis scoring goals is down to the collective effort of the team.

Tipped to play a prominent role for Nigeria at the Africa Cup of Nations starting in January, his chances became bright following the sacking of coach Gernot Rohr who kept him out of his team.

“Everyone is playing well, not only Dennis,” he said.

“I am happy because we make lots of chances to score goals. Of course, we have to improve our defensive way because when I say the defensive line, I don’t just mean the defence – everyone must be involved to stop the opponent.

“I tell all my players every time that we play to win, but it’s also important that they don’t lose. That is my philosophy. Every match you don’t know what is going to happen so you have to fight to win, but you have to be intelligent that when you can’t win, you don’t lose. We have to be like ice men on the pitch.

“I have to speak with the players and say that there is another battle. We are playing well and we are doing very good to create chances to score goals, but we need to improve our situation defensively.