The U23 team of Germany has as reported by this portal named the German-Nigerian duo of Felix Uduokhai and Jordan Torunarigha in their squad for the football event of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

The games was postponed to this year due to the coronavirus pandemic and the duo were expected to be a part of the team but an indifferent run of form has led to talks of one of them missing out on the final selection.

However coach of the German team Stefan Kuntz has picked both players in his squad of 22 players for the tournament in a list that has all players playing in Germany bar Gent’s Niklas Dorsch.

Their inclusion will no doubt come as a blow to coach of the Nigerian team Gernot Rohr who was hoping to have both players cleared before the start of the World Cup 2022 qualifiers.

Last year, the coach said the duo will likely switch to Nigeria after their involvement with the U23 of Germany at the Olympics even though Augsburg’s Uduokhai ended up getting a call up to the senior team of Germany.

Hertha Berlin Torunarigha confirmed he had talks with representatives of the senior national team of Nigeria in 2018 but decided to continue playing for Germany, shunning the chance of playing at the World Cup with Nigeria that year.

He was however out of the U23 picture for a while and it led to talks of a potential switch to Nigeria but that now is on hold following his inclusion in the list of 22 players for the Olympics.

A member of the representative team of hot in demand Genk forward Paul Onuachu says there is no truth in reports linking the 27 year old forward with a move to Arsenal.

Onuachu who was voted the best player in the Belgium league is rumored to be a target of the Gunners this summer after scoring 35 goals in 45 games last season.

However, his representative who spoke with OwnGoalNigeria.com insist there have been no contact with Arsenal over his services but went silent when asked about the reported interest of West Ham.

“ It will be nice if Arsenal want him as he is a boyhood fan of the team but that is not the case at the moment. No contact has been made yet. We are only seeing it in the papers and on the internet”, he told OwnGoalNigeria.com.

We sought to know about report linking the forward with a move to West Ham which has gone viral the past few years but he refused to comment on the rumors by simply saying we will know soon.

“ I can’t confirm anything at the moment because we are still very much at the stage of receiving and assessing offers. We will be more clear on options soon. For now we are not confirming anything”, he concluded.

The head coach of the Mexican team Gerardo “Tata” Martini has picked two players from the Nigerian team that was humiliated by his team in yesterday’s friendly game.

Mexico triumphed 4-0 over the senior national team of Nigeria made up largely of players picked from the Nigeria Professional Football League with only Sunusi Ibrahim as the professional in the team.

Speaking after the game , the coach who said he would have loved to play a full strength Nigerian team with all of the stars available said two players held their own in the Nigerian team.

“We didn’t know how to prepare for the game because it’s not the team that we are use to when it comes to Nigeria but they still put up a good fight particularly the goalkeeper and the defender in 20”, the coach said while speaking after the game.

The goalkeeper was Lobi Stars Stanley Nwabali who made seven saves in the game despite conceding four times and the number 20 for Nigeria in that game was Tope Olusesi of Enugu Rangers.

A brace from Atletico Madrid midfielder Hector Herrea saw the senior national team of Mexico run out 4-0 winners over the Super Eagles of Nigeria.

Herrea was left unmarked in the box and he guide home a cross to put the Mexicans up in less than two minutes into the game.

Funes Mori ensured the Nigerians have no time to respond when he finished a team move with an angle shot past Stanley Nwabali for the second goal two minutes later.

Made up of largely home base players, the Nigeria team held their own to go into the break trailing 0-2 but seven minutes after the restart it got worst when Herrea scored his second of the game.

He profited from a combination of errors at the back to steer home the third for his team who were too good for the Nigerians. They showed that gulf in class when Jonathan Dos Santos scores the fourth.

The senior national team of Nigeria will take on their Mexico counterparts in an international friendly game in the United State of America.

Owngoalnigeria.com can reveal that the game will kick off by 4:00am Nigerian time on Sunday morning but 8:00pm on Wednesday in the United State of America using California time.

It will be played with limited fans in respect to coronavirus protocols but fans of both teams can watch the game on television as well as online. Some social media outlets will also cover the game live.

Locally it will be beamed live to Nigerian audience via Supersport on paid television outlet DSTV with their football portal popularly called SS3 the channel picked to broadcast the game.

For fans of the Nigerian team in the USA, the game will live on television on Comcast 797 THD but for fans of both teams based abroad online portals also having acess to the game. One of such is Hesgoal.com.

Alternatively, the Nigeria Football Federation broadcast outlet NFF TV stationed on thenff.com will also air the game live. It will also be on their YouTube and Facebook portals.

Enyimba FC of Aba winger Anayo Iwuala has been named the captain of the senior national team of Nigeria for the game against Mexico.

OwnGoalNigeria.com exclusively gathered that the 22 year old was picked as captain in the absence of Ikechukwu Ezenwa first of all due to his experience with the main Super Eagles.

The players picked for this game are largely from the Nigeria Professional Football League with the duo of Montreal forward Sunusi Ibrahim and Joshua Oluwayemi of Tottenham Hotspur the only foreign base in the team.

“ Anayo will captain the team for the game against Mexico. He is the most senior player in the team in terms of call up to the main team but aside that he has been really sharp”, a source told OwnGoalNigeria.com.

“ From what he has shown so far he can be the leader of the team on and off the pitch. We hope he brings his A game as he looks very assured and comfortable in training”.

Out of favor Club Brugge of Belgium Nigerian forward David Okereke is close to a return to Italy two years after he left Serie B side Spezia for Belgium.

Okereke had an unhappy last season with just four goals to his name from 25 games in the League. A form which saw him fell out of favour and was missing from several matchday squads.

Back for pre season training he will likely follow in the footsteps of his Nigerian compatriot at the club Dennis Emmanuel who recently left the team for newly promoted English Premier League side Watford.

Reports in Italy has it that Serie A duo of Genoa and Hellas Verona have been in contact with his representatives over a move this summer. Verona almost signed him in January this year.

With two years left to run on his deal, Club Brugge will according to report demand for a fee in the region of €5 million for the 23 year old who they signed for around €6.6 million in 2019.

Former coach of the Nigeria U20 team Paul Aigbogun will serve as coach of the senior national team of Nigeria when they take on Mexico in an international friendly on Sunday.

The team was originally supposed to be handled by the head of the Technical Department of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Austin Eguavoen but he wasn’t issued an entry visa into the United State of America, the venue for the game.

Aigbogun does not require a visa to enter the US as he holds a British passport which grants him free entry into the country. He will be assisted by goalkeeper’s coach Alloy Agu.

The team are expected to arrive America later today for the game on Sunday with their only training session expected to hold on Saturday ahead of the game on Sunday.

All of the players called up for the game by the NFF were picked from the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) bar Joshua Oluwayemi of Tottenham Hotspur.

He was called up as a late replacement for injured goalkeeper Ikechukwu Ezenwa and will provide adequate cover for Stanley Nwabali with the other goalkeeper John Noble not fully fit as well.

Tottenham Hotspur U23 goalkeeper Joshua Oluwayemi was handed a late call up to the senior national team of Nigeria ahead of the friendly game against Mexico on the 3rd of July.

Oluwayemi was drafted in as a late replacement for injured goalkeeper Ikechukwu Ezenwa making him the only foreign base player in the team which is made up of players playing in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).

He will act as cover to the duo of Stanley Nwabali and John Noble who isn’t fully fit yet and didn’t even train with the team for once all through their training camp in Abuja ahead of the game.

Who exactly is Joshua Oluwayemi?

He joined the Spurs youth set up in 2017 and the next season he made his debut for the U18. Same year he was made a part of the U19 squad for the UEFA Youth League.

He kept the most clean sheets out of any goalkeeper in the U18 Premier League posting eight clean sheets in 17 games where he conceded just 13 goals throughout the season. His ability to stop penalty kicks also caught the eyes as he stopped five, more than any goalkeeper in that division.

Spurs handed him a two year professional contract in 2019 and the next year loaned him to National League side Maidenhead United for him to have a taste of senior football. He remained until January 2021.

Last season he recovered from a long injury lay off and kept goal in 12 games where he conceded 13 goals with two clean sheets for the U23 in the Premier League 2.

Why was he called up?

The timing of the injury to Ezenwa and Noble’s lack of fitness made it too short to get a visa for any that will be called up as replacement or cover. Oluwayemi holds a British passport which means he won’t be requiring a visa to enter the USA for the game on Sunday. He played for England at U15 and U16 level but won’t be requiring a switch of allegiance process as that level isn’t recognized by FIFA at part of international football.

Newly signed Watford forward Emmanuel Dennis has spoken of his delight at making a big career step up to the English Premier League following his move from Club Brugge of Belgium.

Dennis’s move still remained one of the shocks of the transfer window so far as it came at a time where his stock has fallen drastically with a loan spell in the second half of last season ending in an unhappy way with Cologne of Germany.

Club Brugge sent him out on loan following a row over a seat in the bus which saw him miss the away game against Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League.

His troubled season made his move to newly promoted Watford the more surprising although his ability has never been in doubt. In an interview he explained how the move came about and his long journey to the English Premier League.

“It’s crazy, it’s like a dream,” said Dennis. “I’m really happy to be here. Growing up, going to watch the Premier League you have to pay, sit in a crowd of people and watch it. But now, I’m here and going to be playing in it.”