Former Nigeria U17, U20 and U23 midfielder Kingsley Michael celebrated his maiden call up to the senior national team of Nigeria with a strong showing for Bologna in their 0-0 draw against Atalanta.

Michael was handed a start in what was his second Serie A game since joining the team in 2017 and the 22 year old didn’t disappoint as he got over a nervy start to post a really good second half performance.

He was substituted in the 60th minute but did enough to justify the decision of the coach to hand him his debut even though he played as a defensive midfielder as opposed to his traditional role as a central midfielder.

Named on the standby list of the senior national team of Nigeria for their upcoming World Cup 2022 qualifiers. He will be eyeing a debut if the players based in England fail to get clearance to play away in Cape Verde.

The first choice goalkeeper of the senior national team of Nigeria Maduka Okoye was once again on the losing side as his team Sparta Rotterdam slumped to a 0-2 loss against Go Ahead Eagles in the Eredivisie.

Okoye who turned 22 today didn’t have the best of birthday celebration as he was made to pick the ball twice from his net. The seventh time he has done so this season.

Last season he finished with ten clean sheets from 33 games and got nominated for goalkeeper of the year in the Netherlands. He was also voted the club’s player of the year but things haven’t started smoothly this season.

It started with a 4-0 loss to FC Utrecht then a 1-1 draw suggest Sparta Rotterdam were back to the form that made them a hit last season but today’s loss suggest otherwise.

Coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr has added Abia Warriors defender Adekunle Adeleke to his squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifier as a replacement for Brentford midfielder Frank Onyeka who has tested positive to coronavirus.

As first reported by this portal yesterday evening, central defender Adeleke has been called up as Onyeka’s replacement . His inclusion we gathered was communicated to him earlier today and he is expected to be in the camp of the team when it resumes on Monday.

A member of the team for the past four games, his invitation is coming at a time where there is no clarity over his club career as he is rumored to have make a move at the end of the recently concluded Nigeria Professional Football League season.

Although he played for Abia Warriors last season, reports indicate that he has already agreed to join their city rivals Enyimba FC of Aba for their campaign in the CAF Confederation Cup.

Ahead of the Super Eagles of Nigeria first World Cup 2022 qualifiers coach of the team Gernot Rohr has voiced his concerns over the choice of Lagos as venue of the game.

Nigeria will host Liberia at the Teslim Balogun stadium situated in the heart of Lagos and Rohr says a lot need to be done for the playing surface to be at the level the players want.

He also lamented the traffic situation in Lagos state and also called for better organization than last time out when they played in same city. The coach however said he hope recent works will give the pitch a facelift.

“We are happy to play in Lagos but there are two things that must be better. The first thing is for the traffic, we cannot spend one and half hour from the hotel to the stadium. It’s too long”, he told Elegbete TV.

“We need better escort, we need better organisation and the roads are full. This is one problem. The other problem is infrastructure, they had a good work on the but it’s not yet on a higher international level.

“Our players are use to playing on very good grass. It’s still not the case. So they are working a lot. We are happy over it but it’s still not the best. They should play in the best infrastructure like they have in other countries.”

He named the Godswill Akpabio stadium as the one pitch which he love his team to play on as they have one of the best infrastructure. Abuja which is under repairs will be a good option when ready according to the coach.

“ We have actually Uyo which is actually the best one. I hope they will be Abuja, they are working on it. I hope it will be good when they finished. It’s not yet finished but Lagos still have a lot to do and they are working a lot.

“I didn’t see it last season but my assistants were there. They have to do better grass for us. We need the best condition to play the best football”.

There is confusion in the camp of Super Eagles opponent Liberia ahead of their opening World Cup 2022 qualifiers game in Lagos on the 3rd of September, OwnGoalNigeria.com understands.

Reports from Liberia has it that head coach of the team Peter James Butler didn’t turn up for the training of the team on Wednesday as dispute over a new deal rages on.

The coach was expected to be around as talks of a new deal to replace the old one which expired in August is to be held but he didn’t turn up as expected and there have been no report to suggest otherwise since then.

54 year old Butler who previously coached Botswana has been in charge of Liberia since 2019 but he might not be with the team in Nigeria as he is yet to sign the new deal offered to him in August this year.

His backroom staff which includes Christopher Wreh as his assistant, Sunday Seah as goalkeeper’s coach, Tommy Johnson the kit manager and administrative manager Sebastain Collins have all resumed training with the 27 invited players for the game.

They will likely lead the team to Nigeria if Butler fails to turn up. A clear idea of the situation is expected to be known in the coming days.

Coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr has added Abia Warriors defender Adekunle Adeleke to his squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers.

His inclusion we gathered was communicated to him earlier today and he is expected to be in the camp of the team when it resumes on Monday.

A member of the team for the past four games, it’s still unclear if he is coming in as a replacement for a player or added to the squad to swell the number.

Although he played for Abia Warriors last season, reports indicate that he has already agreed to join their city rivals Enyimba FC of Aba for their campaign in the CAF Confederation Cup.

More details shortly…

Victor Osimhen has joined the list of players who may not be available for their country when the 2022 World Cup qualifiers get underway this weekend, OwnGoalNigeria.com understands.

Like the La Liga and the English Premier League, Serie A has also communicated to teams who players are traveling to countries seen as potential hot spot for the spread of coronavirus that they are not under any obligation to release their players.

Osimhen who will serve a two match ban and shouldn’t be bothered even he is asked to isolate for a ten day period has been told he won’t be released for the Super Eagles games against Liberia and Cape Verde on the 3rd and 7th of September respectively.

This much was made known per a post on Twitter by Italian journalist Carlo Alvino who specializes on reporting happenings around Napoli. He claimed Napoli has turned down the invitation sent to Adam Ounas, Kalidou Koulibaly, Hirving Lozano and David Ospina by their various national teams “The A League against Fifa: Ounas, Koulibaly, Lozano, Ospina and Osimhen will not go to the national team”, he posted.

Nigeria is already faced with the prospect of prosecuting their second game of the qualifiers without as many as ten players who are based in the United Kingdom as the venue of the game Cape Verde is on the UK red zone list as they seek to curb the spread of coronavirus.

Official Statement From FIFA

We have faced global problems together in the past and must continue to do so in the future. The release of players in the upcoming international windows is a matter of great urgency and importance. I am grateful for the support and cooperation from many stakeholders in the game during this challenging period.

The goalkeeper coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Alloy Agu has defended the decision of the coaches to leave out Hapoel Katamon goalkeeper Adebayo Adeleye from the squad for the World Cup qualifiers.

Adeleye has carried his form from the Israeli second division to the top division following their promotion and so far he has kept three sheets in five games,but he still wasn’t considered worthy enough of a spot in the Super Eagles squad.

Agu who is in charge of goalkeepers in the Super Eagles technical crew explained that they are aware of his exploits but the decision not to call any new players for the World Cup qualifiers worked against him.

“We have heard a lot about him, but in honesty we have resolved not to bring in new players considering the sensitivity of the qualifiers. We would only invite players we have been working with before,” said the 1994 AFCON gold medallist, referring to the upcoming World Cup qualifiers where the Super Eagles will come up against Liberia, Cape Verde, and Central African Republic”, he told Guardian Nigeria.