Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle has revealed the method he uses in selecting new players to his team , OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Chelle who has already submitted his list of players for the upcoming world cup qualifiers playoff in Morocco, included two new players in the team for the mini tournament.

Speaking on how he gets to call up players considering the huge number of Nigerian players available for selection. The coach told CAF online channel the various means he uses to assess players before making a decision on calling them to his team.

“There are at least 25 players who could play across the frontline — more than a full team. We try to manage it carefully. We’ve built a player-tracking system: we monitor around 80 players every week — roughly 80 matches to watch. Selection comes down to several criteria: first, are you playing for your club; second, are you performing; third, do you fit our tactical framework”, Chelle explained.

“Sometimes the tactical criterion wins. For example, Ademola Lookman hadn’t played much for Atalanta early in the season, but I couldn’t name a squad without the African Player of the Year. He can change a game in 15 minutes. Picking 25 is never easy — in Nigeria it’s even harder — which is why we work so hard”.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Hannover 96 defender Ime Okon has been told to prove his commitment to the senior national team of South Africa by honouring the invitation to play in the friendly game against Zambia in mid July, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Since moving to Germany after his senior debut for South Africa, the 21 year old hasn’t honoured any invitation to play for South Africa largely due to injuries, and also time to settle down at his new base.

Born in South Africa to a Nigerian father, he has already pledged his international future to South Africa despite flirting with Nigeria in the early days of his rise at SuperSport United..

Former South Africa international Mlungisi Ngubane, who is known for his outspoken nature has sounded a warning to him ahead of the next international round of games.

“It’s important for Ime Okon to honour his call-up if he makes it into the final squad for the match against Zambia. He can’t just show up for the AFCON and the World Cup. He needs to come and fight for his position,” Ngubane was quoted as saying by Kickoff.

“Many of us couldn’t watch him play at SuperSport because it was unclear which country he would choose between South Africa and Nigeria. Some even thought he was a foreigner, only to discover that he is actually South African.

“Now that he has made his decision, more people will start paying attention to him, especially since he is playing abroad.

“We understand that our players often find it difficult to honour national team call-ups after joining new clubs overseas, as those clubs tend to be restrictive. Some players want to secure their place in their club’s first team before committing to the national squad.

“However, playing for Bafana will provide an opportunity for his club in Germany to recognise that he is a national team player,” added ‘Professor’.

Dutch League breakout midfielder Gibson Yah is facing a dilemma picking the country he will pledge his international future to between the Netherlands and Nigeria, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

The 22 year old has blown everyone away with his performances for newly promoted Volendam, where he has two assists from his role as a defensive midfielder.

Already league giants Ajax where he spent the formative years of his career are closely monitoring him for a possible return. He was exceptional against them in a game which ended in a 1-1 draw in August.

At international level he has played for the U15 of the Netherlands, but the level isn’t recognised by FIFA keeping him eligible for Nigeria. A decision appears not to be imminent based on what we heard is going on in his camp.

While his parents and the player were initially sold out on the idea of playing for Nigeria, his agent want him to not be in a rush to commit to Nigeria with the hope that he will get into the Dutch team.

The position of the agent has slowed down what was supposed to be a straightforward process, and now what is looking to be more realistic is for him to wait until the end of the season before making a decision.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Blackburn Rovers defender Ryan Alebiosu has started the process of acquiring a Nigerian passport ahead of his potential debut for the senior national team of Nigeria, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

We reported his decision to pursue his international career with Nigeria yesterday ahead of England after talks with coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle, who has been monitoring his progress at English Championship side Blackburn Rovers.

Chelle sees him as the ideal replacements for injured Ola Aina in his squad for the AFCON, especially with another full back in Felix Agu not expected to be at the tournament after having surgery as confirmed by his club Werder Bremen.

” He ( Ryan) has applied for his Nigerian passport and the earliest I think he can get it is December. So playing at the AFCON is the realistic target for now, even though the games in November is also possible”, a source close to the player revealed.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Former coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr has picked the two teams that he expects to play in the final game of the world cup qualifiers playoff in Morocco, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Rohr who also coached Gabon one of the teams at the playoff spoke on his expectations in their game against Nigeria, and why he is tipping the Super Eagles to triumph in the game that will be played on the 13th of November.

“Gabon and Nigeria are two good teams,” the 72-year-old former Bordeaux coach told NationSport from Cotonou yesterday. “Some of their (Gabonese) players are still the same ones I worked with between 2010 and 2012 when we reached the quarter-finals of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).”

He continued: “Aubameyang was a young player at that time (2012), and their captain, Bruno Ecuele Manga, is still there. But I think Nigeria has better players. If they play collectively like they did against Benin, I think they can beat Gabon.”

On the game between Cameroon and Congo Dr, the coach of Benin Republic reckoned that he is tipping Congo Dr for a spot in the final against Nigeria and explained his choice.

“The winner of the final ticket will be difficult to predict because the match between Cameroon and DR Congo will not be easy,” said Rohr who incidentally qualified Nigeria to her last Mundial appearance at Russia 2018. “Perhaps, DR Congo are a bit stronger because they have individually better quality players than Cameroon.

“ Again, Cameroon are also facing some administrative problems that may affect their performance, so I think the final could be between Nigeria and DR Congo.”

The winner of the final game will get a spot to represent Africa at the continental playoff, where there will be two tickets for the finalists to be at next year’s world cup.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle has called on Galatasaray to help the cause of Nigeria playing at the world cup by reducing the work load on Victor Osimhen, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Osimhen is the first choice striker of the Nigerian team and will play a leading role in their quest to pick up the ticket to represent Africa at the intercontinental playoff next year.

They will begin their campaign at the mini tournament taking place in Morocco with a game against Gabon, the winner of the tie will face either Congo Dr or Cameroon who will be up against each other in the other semi final.

Looking ahead Chelle emphasized the need to have all of his players fit and available with focus on Osimhen, who missed most of the campaign in the qualifiers through injury and fitness concerns.

” You need all of your players fit and ready for games like that. It’s two games in four days and it requires them fresh. We have to make sure we get our best players in top shape”, the coach said.

” When you look at players like Osimhen, who is the best striker in the world, the need to reduce the load on him is something we hope and plead with his team (Galatasaray). You can see he is very important to them, but also to my team as well”.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle held talks with Newcastle United winger Jacob Murphy on playing for his team in the world cup qualifiers, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

30 year old Murphy who hasn’t been capped by England at any level has been consistent for Newcastle the past two seasons, and it caught the attention of Chelle.

Chelle was quick to reach out to him after hearing of his Nigerian roots, but the winger refused to commit his international future to the Super Eagles, preferring to wait for a call up from the coach of England .

However it is believed that he will have a change of mind if Nigeria qualifies for the world cup, but Chelle will likely not pursue him any further as he sees it as a close chapter after his initial rejection.

” I can reliably tell you that Chelle had contact with Murphy on playing for Nigeria but he prefers England. It could change if we qualify for the world cup but I guess it might be late for Chelle, who is in the final stages of building this team”, a chieftain of the NFF revealed.

This season, Murphy has two goals and 1 assist in games despite his team’s poor start to the season in England.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Former Nigeria international defender Efe Ambrose says Victor Osimhen is not the most important player for the Super Eagles of Nigeria heading into the world cup qualifiers playoff, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Ambrose who was a part of the 2013 AFCON winning team and got voted into the best XI of the tournament represented Nigeria at the 2014 World Cup, and picked up 51 caps in the process.

Speaking from his base in Scotland, the 37 year old who now plays for third division Scottish side Glasgow United picked Calvin Bassey as the one player that he feels the team can’t do without at the moment.

” I don’t think he ( Bassey) has had a bad game for the Super Eagles since the last AFCON. In the world cup qualifiers group stage he played all of the games and paired with three separate players in all of the minutes”, Ambrose said.

” To me he isn’t getting the respect that he deserves because his job is not to score goals like Victor Osimhen but to stop them. So with all due respect to Osimhen, the playoff is like a cup tournament and you need defenders much more than you need forwards”, he concluded.

Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle has picked Blackburn Rovers defender Ryan Alebiosu as his preferred option to replace regular right back Ola Aina, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Alebiosu who was at Arsenal as a youngster caught the attention of the coach with his performances in the English Championship, where he has one goal and an assist this season in 13 games.

Chelle has already spoken with the 23 year old, and he has confirmed his willingness to team up with the Nigerian team despite his eligibility to represent England.

He hasn’t been capped at any level by England, meaning he can play for Nigeria almost immediately he gets a Nigerian passport, per what we exclusively gathered.

The idea is for him to be an understudy to Aina and possibly get his breakthrough at the AFCON in December with Aina feared out of the tournament with an injury. Birmingham City Bright Osayi-Samuel and Benjamin Fredrick of Belgium side FC Dender have played in that role in Aina’s absence.

However Chelle sees Fredrick as a centre back and want him to develop in that position with Calvin Bassey, hence his decision to go for the defender who has the below stats this season.

Alebiosu’s numbers this season:

⚽️ 1 Goal

️ 1 Assist

2.04 Expected Assists

83.8% Pass Accuracy

12 Chances Created

12 Successful Crosses

11 Successful Dribbles

15 Touches in Opposition Box

️ 33 Tackles

54 Duels Won

5 Blocked Shots

38 Recoveries

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Head coach of the senior national team of Benin Republic Gernot Rohr says Nigeria international winger Moses Simon should be praised for his role in helping the team pick a world cup playoff spot, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Rohr saw his team lose 4-0 to Nigeria in Uyo with Victor Osimhen scoring a hattrick, but it was the run from Simon that brought about the fourth and most important goal scored by Frank Onyeka that caught the fancy of the coach.

Speaking on the lessons learnt, he lamented the fact that his team were undone by a moment of pure desire from a quality player, at a time when others were tired.

” It was late into the game and Simon who started the game had the energy to make that kind of run to set up the goal. That’s a quality player with a desire, which matters most times than even the quality. My players learnt that in a hard way”, the former coach of the Nigerian team said.