Almeria forward Sadiq Umar has been handed a first time call up to the senior national team of Nigeria alongside FC Lorient forward Terem Moffi.

The duo have been contacted by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) about their invitation for the 2022 AFCON qualifiers game against Benin Republic and Lesotho respectively.

Their spot in the team came at the expense of two players earlier penned down for a call up in Taiwo Awoniyi and Paul Onuachu.

While Union Berlin Awoniyi is out injured at the moment, Onuachu was moved to the standby list despite his impressive goal return of 24 goals this season with Rohr keen on trying something new.

Onuachu has scored just once in eight games for the Nigeria national team and with less international friendly games to try out players Rohr has decided to go with Sadiq who has 22 goals this season.

14 of those goals came in the Spanish second division for Almeria with two in the Copa Del Rey and he scored six goals for Partizan Belgrade of Serbia before his move to Spain.

Moffi on the other hand has done really well in the Ligue 1 with eight goals for Lorient this season notably is his brace against Monaco and winner against PSG.

Coach of Leicester City Brendan Rodgers has given an insight on why Kelechi Iheanacho is back among the goals at English Premier League side Leicester City.

Iheanacho has found the back of the net in back to back games for Leicester City In spectacular fashion against Burnley and Brighton respectively. A sign of the return to same form that made Leicester snap him up from Manchester City.

Rodgers who has kept the faith in the Nigeria international has been full of praise for his hardwork and his dedication to little details as he aim to make good use of the absence of Harvey Barnes and James Maddison to stake a claim in the team.

Aside the absence of the duo , top striker Jamie Vardy has struggled to get goals the last one month leaving Iheanacho as their surest route to goal in attack.

“The difference is just confidence,” Rodgers says. “It isn’t easy when you are coming in from Manchester City and he’s coming into a position where you have such an iconic figure playing in Jamie Vardy. I liked his talent when I saw him from the outside, before I came in. He scored goals at Manchester City even though he didn’t play so much, and you can see his raw talent.

“I thought it was a great challenge for a young player to develop and show his confidence, and then gradually that confidence has grown. You’ve seen the appreciation of the supporters for him. Before lockdown, when he came into a game or came off in a game, the crowd really responded to him.

“It is about working on his strengths. He is a powerful boy. He can run in behind, he’s strong, aggressive and he wants to work hard.

“It’s just been about giving him clarity that when he plays, what’s expected of him, both when he has and hasn’t got the ball. I speak to him a lot. He is a very important player for us.”

“When Jamie moves on, you will need competition, but hopefully by that stage, Kelechi will have settled,” Rodgers adds. “He is starting to settle now. You can see his happiness in training.

“He loves football and he’s coachable, so he can kick on. Jamie is a unique player and has got some years left, and then it will be over to guys like Kels to take over.”

Former Nigeria U17 wing forward Akinkumi Amoo got his senior career goal count underway in Sweden with a bang scoring a brace in their 5-0 win over FC Gute in the second round of the Svenska Cupen.

He has followed that up with another well taken goal for his team in their 3-2 win over AIK. A goal which has earned him comparison with Barcelona and football great Lionel Messi.

Amoo picked the ball just after the centre circle and embark on a solo run which saw him go past three players with his pace and skills before curling a sweet finish into the net of AIK for the first goal of the game in the 18th minute of the game.

The finish got the attention of Sweden football legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic who has 23.5% stake at the club as one of the four owners of the club.

Ibrahimovic was instrumental in the signing of the Nigerian winger with his video call with the then 17 year old playing a huge role in making the winger join the club.

A member of the 2019 Nigeria U17 team of Manu Garba he is tipped to be one of the success story of the team that went out in the round of 16 at the last U17 tournament.

Barring a last minute change of mind coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr has handed a first time call up to Southampton winger Nathan Tella.

We gathered Tella’s recent run of regular games for Southampton has caught the attention of the Franco-German coach who has been tracking the winger since last year.

Eligible for Nigeria and England but he is yet to represent any of the above country at any level. Chief about to coach Rohr Tunde Adelakun mentioned him as one is the players they are scouting for a potential call up.

A close source to the coach confirmed he has been contacted and only if he fails to secure a Nigerian passport will he be excluded from the squad for the AFCON qualifiers games against Benin Republic and Lesotho respectively.

“ He is in the list but there is still one more issue. For now he doesn’t have a Nigerian passport. That can be a hindrance but we hope he gets one but for sure he is in and he doesn’t require any clearance from FIFA because he hasn’t played for England”, he told Owngoalnigeria.com

Coach of Napoli Gennaro Gattuso says Nigeria international striker Victor Osimhen will definitely score more goals after his goal in their 3-1 win over Bologna.

Osimhen ended a barren run in front of goal since November with a goal in the 65th minute following his introduction as a substitute upon his return from the head injury he suffered against Atalanta two weeks ago.

The goal will no doubt lift the pressure on the shoulder of Osimhen who is the most expensive player in the history of the club following his record breaking €90 million move from Lille in the summer.

His manager believe the goal will help boost his confidence and also propel him to score more goals before the end of the Serie A season.

“ When you have not scored for a while it’s naturally to feel some pressure as the top striker and it affected Osimhen. This goal will no doubt boost his confidence and also help me to score more goals before the end of the season”, he said after the game.

Coach of Leicester City Brendan Rodgers has once again heap praises on Nigeria international striker Kelechi Iheanacho after his goal in their 2-1 win over Brighton and Hove Albion.

Iheanacho drew his team level with a smart finish in the 34th minute by dinking the ball over the head of Brighton goalkeeper Robert Sanchez from a well weighted pass from Youri Tieleman.

The Nigerian hasn’t disappointed since getting his chance largely due to the injuries to James Maddison and Harvey Barnes, and with top scorer Jamie Vardy struggling for form he has emerged as the main man for the team in their last two games.

Reacting to his second goal in as many games, Rodgers salute the new found form of the Leicester City man saying he is valuable to the team as he can do everything.

“He has a bit of everything,” Rodgers said on Iheanacho. “He’s come up trumps a few times recently, if you remember at Fulham he scored that important header”, Rodgers said after the game.

“In the first half it got away from him too much, he had too many touches and was losing possession, but when he intensified his game, he played quicker and his finish was superb. That’s the level of confidence he’s at. He worked well for the team and his contribution was valuable.”

Chidera Ejuke was once again the talking point after his inability to break his goal scoring drought that has now extended to ten games since he last scored for CSKA Moscow.

Ejuke lasted 71 minutes in their 2-0 win over Akhmat Grozny operating as a left winger. A position he has played nine times this season with a goal and assist.

His only other goal came in the game against Spartak Moscow where he operated as a centre forward. He has played there four times this season.

That he cost around €12 million in an era where teams are struggling financially due to the coronavirus pandemic has increased the noises around his low goal contribution.

Some fans believe he need time to settle after his move from Dutch side Heerenveen while another section believe he has been a poor purchase due to the fact that he doesn’t score nor assist.

In the Netherlands, same argument came to the fore despite his goal return of ten goals and six assists from 29 games in what was his only season which was halted by the pandemic.

Coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr has confirmed the availability of Victor Osimhen for the Super Eagles AFCON 2022 qualifiers games against Benin Republic and Lesotho respectively.

They were doubts over his availability but the coach confirmed that he has fully recovered from the head injury he sustained after landing awkwardly during the game against Atalanta.

Rohr went as far as revealing the tactics he most play with the forward further hinting at how they will be lined up when they go in search of one point from six to seal their spot at the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations.

“Osimhen can play as a central striker in both 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1. They are two game systems that we use in the national team. He has been a permanent player in the Nigerian national team for five years. His spirit of sacrifice is an example for everyone”.

“ Napoli are a great team but they have been unlucky this season. Gattuso is a good coach and Victor told me he trusts him a lot and what he’s teaching him. I think he can get results already this season”.

The international Football Association Board – the authority in charge of determining the laws of the game – have voted to update the handball rule.

IFAB confirmed that the rule now dictates that an accidental handball that leads to a team-mate scoring a goal or having a goal-scoring opportunity will no longer be considered an offence after their annual general meeting on Friday afternoon.

The decision comes just one day after the controversial decision to rule out Josh Maja’s ‘equaliser’ for Fulham against Tottenham at Craven Cottage due to a perceived handball by Mario Lemina in the build up.

In an official statement on their website IFAB confirmed that handballs will now only be given under certain circumstances.

These include when a player “deliberately touches the ball with their hand/arm, for example moving the hand/arm towards the ball” or when a player “touches the ball with their hand/arm when it has made their body unnaturally bigger.”

The statement went on to add: “A player is considered to have made their body unnaturally bigger when the position of their hand/arm is not a consequence of, or justifiable by, the player’s body movement for that specific situation.”