OCTOBER INTERNATIONALS; WHO REPRESENTED THE SUPER EAGLES

     For avid football fans, the month of October 2020 was a breath of fresh air as they were finally able to see their darling national teams line up again following a hiatus of almost a year due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.

    With the Super Eagles of Nigeria, it was no different as players were called up for two friendlies against Algeria and Tunisia on the 9th and 13th of October, respectively. For the sake of the players called up being foreign based, the friendlies were held in Austria as a result of COVID-19 travel restrictions. A number of regulars were however missing due to various reasons. Midfield anchor, Wilfred Ndidi was injured while playing for Leicester City in the Premier League, Oghenekaro Etebo was injured playing for Galatasaray, Francis Uzoho is yet to recover from the Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury he suffered, Joe Aribo was injured while playing for his Scottish club, Rangers, and Victor Osimhen could not make the trip from Italy due to fears of a possible Coronavirus outbreak in Naples.

    A squad of 26 players convened in Austria for the friendlies. The squad list in full;

Goalkeepers: Maduka Okoye (Sparta Rotterdam, Netherlands); Dele Alampasu (Ventspils, Latvia); Matthew Yakubu (SKF Sered, Slovakia); Tobias Lawal (LASK Linz, Austria).

Defenders: William Troost-Ekong (Watford FC, England); Kenneth Omeruo (CD Leganes, Spain); Leon Balogun (Rangers FC, Scotland); Semi Ajayi (West Brom, England); Chidozie Awaziem (Boavista, Portugal); Zaidu Sanusi (FC Porto, Portugal); Ola Aina (Fulham FC, England); Jamilu Collins (SC Paderborn 07, Germany); Kevin Akpoguma (TSG Hoffenheim, Germany); Tyronne Ebuehi (SL Benfica, Portugal)

Midfielders: Mikel Agu (Vitoria de Gunimaraes, Portugal); Samson Tijani (TSV Hartberg, Austria); Frank Onyeka (FC Midtjylland, Denmark).

Forwards: Ahmed Musa (Al Nassr SC, Saudi Arabia); Moses Simon (FC Nantes, France); Alex Iwobi (Everton FC, England); Samuel Kalu (Girondins de Bordeaux, France); Cyriel Dessers (KRC Genk, Belgium); Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City, England); Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal CF, Spain); Chidera Ejuke (CSKA Moscow, Russia); Paul Onuachu (FC Midtjylland, Denmark).

    A couple of new faces had joined up with the squad, and young and promising players came through. Goalkeepers Tobias Lawal, a 20-year-old keeper from LASK Linz who was on the bench when his club faced Manchester United in the Europa league last season and Matthew Yakubu, a 21-year-old were called up as the goalkeeper uncertainty which has been with us since Vincent Enyeama retired looked to be solved. 18-year-old midfielder, Samson Tijani, who captained the Nigeria U-17 team, the Golden Eaglets at the U-17 World Cup in 2019 was also called up. 25 year old Dutch-born striker, Cyriel Dessers, who was the highest scoring Nigerian in Europe last season was also called up, Zaidu Sanusi, a 23 year old left back was also called up to shore up the defence, as was 25-year-old Kevin Akpoguma, who captained the German U-20 national team as they beat a Nigerian team containing Kelechi Iheanacho and Wilfred Ndidi at the 2015 U-20 World Cup. Twenty-two-year-old saucy winger, Chidera Ejuke, who made waves at Heerenveen in the Netherlands also got called up. Also, midfielder Frank Onyeka, 22, who appeared prominently as FC Midtjylland made the group stages of the UEFA Champions League for the first time ever, was invited.

    In the games against Algeria and Tunisia, it was evident that this was a side missing many of its key players, as the team struggled to find any rhythm and play in sync for most of the games, due to the fact that they had only about 11 days to acclimatize, train, and play together. It was thus understandable when the team played out a 1-0 loss to Algeria, and a 1-1 draw against Tunisia four days later. Chances were at a premium in both games, and only one goal was scored. In spite of a barrage of changes by coach Rohr, goalkeeper Maduka Okoye started and completed both games and looks to have secured the number 1 shirt following a pair of solid performances, with the highlight being in the second game against Tunisia when he had to make a brilliant stop to tip the ball over the bar late in the game after a cross almost caught him off-guard and the ball looked destined for the back of the net. Kevin Akpoguma also gave a decent account of himself in both games, and Chidera Ejuke showcased some of his impressive dribbling and close control against Tunisia. Zaidu Sanusi started both games at left back, and Frank Onyeka was also handed his debut, as was Samson Tijani. Overall, it seemed a positive outing as the players got to know each other, and they played some aesthetically pleasing football at times.

    Looking at these friendlies, we learned that the Super Eagles have enough quality to last a long while. For every aging player, there are two or three hungry young players waiting in the sidelines. The sky really is the limit for this team.