Coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr says he has always have a thing for Dele Alampasu who has been handed a recall to the senior national team of Nigeria ahead of their upcoming engagements.

The Ventspils goalkeeper was among the players called up for the game against Tunisia and Côte d’Ivoire on the 9th and 13th of October respectively in Austria. Two friendly games meant to prepare the team for their competitive games in November.

Alampasu was first called up to the team in 2016 but since then a poor time at club level which include a year without a club has kept him out of the team. His return to football with Ventspils has earned him a recall.

Speaking on his invitation, Rohr said he has always have a soft spot for the shot stopper and he is happy that he is now back to getting games hence back in the team.

“ He isn’t entirely new to us because he has worked with us before but due to club issues he lost his spot. In Latvia and not doing badly and because of that he is back with us. I have always admire him and it’s his chance to impress again”.

The newly appointed coach of the Nigeria U17 team Fatai Amoo has a little less than two months to prepare a team for the African U17 qualifiers, Owngoalnigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Earlier today, Amoo was appointed as head coach of the Nigerian team by the Nigeria Football Association alongside three others with the aim of discovering the next set of stars for Nigeria football.

That they have to start in earner because per a mail sent to the NFF by CAF after a virtual meeting on the 17th of September, the Africa soccer governing body made it known that the U17 AFCON Qualifiers will begin on the 17th of October to run till the 31st of same month.

However some countries led by Nigeria are challenging the date for the tournament demanding for a shift as football is yet to return to most countries due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Their request has been forwarded to CAF for consideration but as they await a decision coaches of the team have around 22 days to get a team set for the tournament else risk been thrown out of the tournament.

The representative of Hoffenheim defender Kevin Akpoguma has defended his client on his earlier decision to snub Nigeria for Germany.

Akpoguma severally turned down the chance to switch allegiance to Nigeria after progressing through the youth ranks of Germany where he captained the U20s.

Last year he said he will consider Nigeria when all hope of playing for Germany is lost in an interview with Oma Akatugba. The comment didn’t go down well with so many Nigerians.

Now that he has decided to commit his future to Nigeria, a lot of people have revisited that comment using it as a yardstick to question his commitment to Nigeria.

“ Many don’t understand what Kevin meant. It’s normal for players to want to continue in a particular environment for obvious trains but when it’s not possible. You look for the best route available”, he told Owngoalnigeria.com.

“ He has always wanted Nigeria and even tried to get into the U17s but when Germany came calling things changed a bit. The way he moved up the ranks to the level of captain is only natural for him to eye the next step.

“ When that didn’t happen he has no choice but to go back to where he has always wanted to be. Players move clubs when things don’t go as planned. Kevin always wanted Nigeria but at a point Germany was the only available choice”.

Roland Mark

Coach is the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr is already weighing up the possible formations he will use when the team converge for their next set of games.

Nigeria will play two high profile friendly games against former African champions Tunisia and Côte d’Ivoire on the 9th and 13th of October respectively in Austria.

The games will serve as part of preparations for their upcoming AFCON 2021 qualifiers in November. Rohr is already planning his tactics for the game.

According to the German tactician, the idea of how they want to play has been laid in previous games and they hope to build on it. He hinted that it’s part of the reasons why he isn’t keen on inviting new players most times.

Rohr told ESPN: “First [goal] is to renew our team spirit, to rebuild our good playing of offensive football like we did in the last games before the pandemic came, scoring a lot of goals.

The impending transfer of William Troost Ekong from Udinese to English Championship side Watford has triggered a rift between the owners of the club and the coach, owngoalnigeria.com understands.

We gathered that coach of the team Luca Gotti doesn’t like the tactical rigidity of the Nigerian defender hence his preference for the trio of Rodrigo Becao, Bram Nuytinck and Sebastian De Maio.

The coach tried Ekong on the right side of the trio instead of through the middle but the experiment ended as a total failure. That made him to lose faith in the Nigerian and subsequently upgraded Samir as back up to the preferred trio.

According to sources close to the club it was on the instructions of Gotti that the club took a decision to let go of the 27 year old but the Pozzo family, owners of the club don’t want to transfer him elsewhere.

They want him to still remain within their reach so they came up with the decision to sell him to Watford which is owned by same family, however Ekong isn’t happy with the move.

His unhappiness is the reason why the move has stalled in recent days and with Nuytinck injured the move was further delayed but his injury isn’t as worst as initially feared. Which means Ekong could yet leave the club.

More will be known in the coming days particularly if Ekong is not listed for action when they get to play their next Serie A game on Sunday against Hellas Verona.

Daniel Martins

CSKA Moscow forward Chidera Ejuke has cleared the air on the proper pronunciation of his surname following his invitation to the senior national team of Nigeria.

Ejuke was listed among players who will report to the Super Eagles camp in Austria for the games against Tunisia and Côte d’Ivoire on the 9th and 13th of Octoberrespectively.

Since his days from the Nigeria U17 team his surname has always sparked debate with many saying it’s not in anyway a Nigerian name owing to the spelling and pronunciation of the name.

Speaking to Owngoalnigeria.com, the 22 year old said the spelling of his name is actually an error made during the processing of his international passport before he departed for Norway, where he joined Valerenga.

“ It’s not something that I’m bothered about. My passport came out like that when I was with the Nigeria U17 team in 2013. Because of the short time we had and how difficult it is to correct it, I decided to leave it like that”, he said.

“ However, the actual spelling is Ejike not Ejuke. That’s my father’s name. My name is Chidera so if you really want to call me as a Nigerian then call me Ejike but Ejuke is fine as well”.

FC Porto left full back Zaidu Sanusi said he is thrilled at the prospect of teaming up with the Nigerian team and fight for a spot in the line up.

Zaidu was handed a first time call up to the senior national team of Nigeria for their upcoming games against Tunisia and Côte d’Ivoire next month in Austria, scheduled for 9th and 13th of October respectively.

The defender who recently joined FC Porto after a year in the Portuguese top flight with Santa Clara says his desire is to show the coaches what he can do during training ahead of the games.

“ I will train and work hard as usual. That’s my plan for the camp. I am focus on my strength and not on any rivalry because we are all teammates working for the sole aim of a good team. My style is different from that of most defenders”, he told Owngoalnigeria.com.

“ The team has very good players and I have nothing but respect for them but for my position I believe I am different and it starts with showing the coaches what I can do in training ahead of the game and hopefully I will make my debut”, he concluded.

21 year old Bordeaux forward Josh Maja says he is not in anyway worried over the decision of coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr to place him on standby in the Super Eagles list for their upcoming engagements.

Maja was widely expected to be named in the squad for the games against Tunisia and Côte d’Ivoire respectively but he was instead place on standby.

His form at Bordeaux has been really good since the start of the season as he has started in two of the four game they have played this season with a goal to his name.

On the back of his form he was expected to be in the squad but that wasn’t the case and he said he isn’t bothered as the coaches know best.

“ I just have to keep on working hard and make my way into the team. Yes it’s sad to miss out but I’m not bothered. There are still many games to be played by the national team and I believe my time will come”, he told Owngoalnigeria.com.

On loan Benfica defender Tyronne Ebuehi is for now ahead of the other players in the race to replace the injured Wilfred Ndidi in the Super Eagles, Owngoalnigeria.com gathered.

Ndidi was confirmed out for a period of between 6 to 12 weeks by coach of Leicester City Brendan Rodgers hence ruling him out of the Super Eagles engagements for the year.

Starting with the games against Tunisia and Côte d’Ivoire next month, the 23 year old spot will be handed to one of the players on standby and for now Ebuehi is favorite to clinch it.

“ The last two days has been interesting and tiring. Ndidi’s injury left the entire technical crew sad but we can only pray for his speedy recovery. We have six players on standby. Even though he is a midfielder we are fully stock in that department”, a back room staff told Owngoalnigeria.

“ For now it’s Ebuehi that has the nod for obvious reasons. We have options at right back but he has been part of the team for a while and recently returned from injury. It’s normal he joins us to boost his morale after a long term lay off”, he concluded.

Alex Iwobi says his aim is to make it hard for coach Carlo Ancelotti to drop him from the Everton team after scoring and also assisting in their 5-2 win over Fleetwood FC in the Carabao Cup.

Iwobi has been rumored not to be in the plan of the Italian manager but after playing all 90 minutes today aside his appearance as a substitute in their last Premier League game, it’s clear that he is in the plans of the manager.

Now fully fit and pushing for a spot, Iwobi said his aim is to hand migraine to the coach in order to get more playing time this season.

He said: “Our performance tonight showed the confidence and the quality we have.

“We’ve got strength in depth and were able to rotate the team and get a performance today so it shows we have a good team for the season.

“It was good experience for me to get 90 minutes under my belt as I’m trying to get fit for all competitions so it was good for the manager to give me the opportunity today.

“Everyone wants to play so hopefully I can give the manager a migraine and get involved as much as I can

“Fleetwood changed their formation second half and were more attacking, they’re a good team as they showed by getting two goals against us but we were able to withstand that and we pleased to be going to the next round.

“We’re targeting every competition every season, if you’re in it you have to try and win it so hopefully we can beat West Ham as well.”

Everton will now face West Ham at home in the fourth round next week.