Hoffenheim defender Kevin Akpoguma says his desire is to play in his preferred role in the heart of the defence of the Super Eagles of Nigeria when the World Cup 2022 qualifiers gets underway.

Akpoguma has played as a right back in the games he has played for the Super Eagles of Nigeria with coach Gernot Rohr sticking to his preferred duo of Leon Balogun and Willam Troost-Ekong.

The former German U20 defender is keen on forcing his way into the plan of the coach In centre defence and it means dislodging one of the duo. Kenneth Omeruo and Chidozie Awaziem are the other options in the role as well.

“ It’s nice to defend the colours of your country and it makes one want to play in the position that benefits the team. Playing for Nigeria is a dream for me and I am ready to play in any role for the team”, he said.

“ My preferred position is to play as a centre back. That is where I see myself excelling more for the good of the team but even at right back. I have always given my all”.

The first choice goalkeeper of the senior national team of Nigeria Maduka Okoye was beaten four times as Sparta Rotterdam slump to a heavy 0-4 to Utrecht defeat in their first game of the new season in the Netherlands.

Okoye as expected started in goal but against his hope of celebrating his new deal with the club with a clean sheet. He was made to pick the ball four times from his net.

The rout started as early as the second minute of play. A scoreline that stayed same until six minutes after the hour mark when Utrecht went on rampage scoring twice in ten minutes before another in time added on.

Last season Okoye was in contention for the title of the best goalkeeper of the year and his form also saw him upstage Francis Uzoho to the role of first choice for the senior national team of Nigeria.

His total of ten clean sheets led to interest from Dutch League giants Ajax Amsterdam and a host of other teams before his decision to accept fresh terms to remain with Sparta Rotterdam. He will be hoping to put this setback behind him ahead of subsequent games.

Nigeria international winger Moses Simon followed up his opening game of the season assist against Monaco with two more for Nantes as they ease to a comfortable 2-0 win over Metz.

Simon delivered the corner kick which helped Nantes to level against Monaco last weekend to register his first goal contribution of the season. He has wasted no time in adding to it.

The Nigerian showed his eyes for setting up his teammates with the First assist for Randal Kolo Muani 12 minutes into the game as his team head into the half time break leading 1-0.

He added another assist to his name five minutes after the restart, this time around it was for Ludovic Blas who ended last season as the top scorer for the team who were lucky to beat the drop to Ligue 2 via the play offs.

Today’s brace of assists means Simon now has three for the season, two less than his total for last season and his first season at the club during his loan spell from Levante two seasons ago.

The Head coach of Bundesliga side Union Berlin Urs Fischer has saluted the manner which record signing Taiwo Awoniyi opened his goal account for the season in their 1-1 draw against Bayern Leverkusen.

Signed from Liverpool on a permanent deal after a fairly successful time on loan, It took the 24 year old forward just seven minutes to show fans of the team that he hasn’t lost the touch that made him a hit during the first half of last season.

He controlled a lofted ball from Max Kruse and used his body and quick thinking to keep his marker at bay before rifling home a well driven effort that nestle into the right hand corner of Bayern Leverkusen goal.

The goal was cancelled out by Moussa Diaby five minutes later and the chances of Union Berlin getting their lead back diminished when Awoniyi was subbed off with what was later confirm to be nothing but muscular cramp.

Reacting to the quality of the strike Fischer said he made what was suppose to be a difficult technique to execute so easy with the way he took the goal nicely.

“ That is his quality when he plays at his best. The touch and the shot is what we have come to know him for as he makes goal scoring so easy”, the coach said after the game.

Nigeria international forward Paul Onuachu is showing similar kind of form that saw his finish last season with 35 goals as he was once again on target for Genk in their 4-0 win over OH Leuven.

With doubts still surrounding his future at the club he is putting all that aside with his recent run in front of goal putting to bed recent reports that he is unhappy at the club.

He followed up his first league goal of the season last weekend against Kortrijk with another in the 59th minute to put his side 2-0 up. The goals was his third in all competitions this season.

So far he has three goals in his last four games with his other goal coming in the UEFA Champions League qualifiers first leg tie against Shakhtar Donetsk which they lost 1-2 at home.

Reports gathered by OwnGoalNigeria.com editorial team has it that he may yet leave the team before the end of the summer transfer window with Genk expected to lower their €26 million valuation.

Coach of newly promoted English Premier League side Watford says the combination of the trio of Emmanuel Dennis, Ismaila Saar and Ken Sema was key to the three goals his team scored in the 3-2 win over Aston Villa.

On his debut Nigerian forward Dennis grabbed the opening goal and the assist for Saar to score the second goal before Cucho Hernandez scored the third for the Hornets.

The trio used their pace to good effect as they tormented the back line of Aston Villa and according to coach Xisco Munoz, the team understand how to play to their strength by playing ball into space for them.

“The most important thing is the team understands each other,” he continued.

“We tried to create space for (Emmanuel) Dennis and (Ismaïla) Sarr. It was a brilliant game as we could’ve scored more”, he said after the game.

“We know how well he (Sarr) can play, and we know he is a top player. If he has space, he can beat anyone. I think (Ismaïla) Sarr, (Emmanuel) Dennis and (Ken) Sema understand how to attack the space, especially today.”

Eight days to Napoli’s first official game for the season which is the Serie A game against Venezia, they rounded up their preparations with a resounding 4-0 win over Pescara.

Club record signing Victor Osimhen was once again on target taking his goal count in five pre season games to 8 which includes a four goal haul against Bassa Anaunia and a brace against Bayern Munich.

His other goal prior to today was the winner against Pro Vercelli. The only game he didn’t score was the 2-1 win over Ascoli which he actually bagged an assist. He was rested for the game against Wisla Krakow in Poland.

The aim for the striker is to surpass his last season goal count of ten in the Serie A as he heads into this season a lot fitter than he was last season when injuries and a failed coronavirus test kept him out for a combined period of three months.

Already new coach of Napoli Luciano Spalleti has tasked the forward to rise to the potential he has by powering the team to new heights with his goals when the season gets underway.

Captain of the senior national team of Nigeria Ahmed Musa opened his season account for his new team Fatih Karagumruk in a five goal thriller which they edged 3-2 against Gaziantep.

Musa who joined the team in the summer on a free transfer from Kano Pillars scored the third goal for his team on the dot of regulation time. Three minutes later he was substituted.

He showed outmost composure to go past three defenders but almost lost the ball but for a lucky bounce which saw the ball came off him to nestle into the net as they seek to pull away in their first league game of the season.

The goal was his first in club football since scoring for Al Nassr in a 6-1 win over Al Adalah on the 25th of September last year. Fee months before terminating his deal with the Saudi Arabia outfit.

His aim will definitely be to equal or surpass his best ever goal scoring season where he scored 13 goals for CSKA Moscow in the 2015/2016 season. A year before he got his biggest career move by joining Leicester City.

Portuguese champions Sporting Lisbon have taken the first step towards signing of Nigerian winger Moses Simon from French Ligue 1 side Nantes.

Reports in Portugal says scouts of the team proposed two names in Ezequiel Barco and Moses Simon to coach Ruben Amorim. The coach picked Simon and they are expected to table a bid of €8m in the coming days.

Simon is seen as their main target heading into the last two weeks of the summer transfer window and they are hopeful of concluding a deal for the Nigeria international who is valued at €15m by Nantes.

Sporting Lisbon are however hopeful that a deal can be reached with Nantes for half that price with the rest paid in add ons as Nantes are struggling to meet up to their financial obligations like most Ligue 1 teams bar PSG.

The Nigerian got his season off to a fine start with an assist in the opening game of the season from a corner kick which canceled out Monaco’s one goal lead and handed his team a precious point away from home.

President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Amaju Pinnick says the Super Eagles of Nigeria have no excuse not to qualify for the 2022 World Cup which will be taking place in Qatar.

The Super Eagles of Nigeria begin their quest for a spot in the World Cup when the qualifiers resume in September with game against Liberia on the 3rd in Lagos.

Pinnick in an Instagram post made available to OwnGoalNigeria.com editorial team charged both the Nigeria men and women team to go all out and get a spot at the next World Cups.

“Prayerfully looking into the future with hope. Our Super Eagles and Super Falcons are on my mind because our World Cup qualifications by his grace is non negotiable for both teams”,he posted.

The qualifiers for the World Cup in Qatar is a lot different for African teams this time around with the ten group winners going into a two legged play offs against other group winners for the five spots available to Africa in the tournament.