Side Kick

Rohr and his 24-man squad for dead rubber tie 

 

With Adebayo Olodan

After so much anticipation, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) on Monday confirmed a list of 24 players that have been invited by Coach Gernor Rohr for the dead rubber 2018 World Cup qualifier against Algeria and the international friendly match against Argentina.
Taking a critical look at the squad, most of the players invited by the coach are those that secured the Super Eagles the 2018 World Cup ticket.
Though there can be no perfect squad anywhere, I, however, believe the German tactician deserves some commendation for extending invitation to a host of new players.
I was particularly delighted with the first invitation extended to Deportivo La Coruna youngster, Francis Uzoho, former U-17 World Cup winner, Chidiebere Nwakali and Russia-based Brian Idowu, who has been placed on standby.
The 18-year-old Uzoho is a revelation in goal for his Spanish club where he progressed from being a fourth choice keeper to be the stand in goalkeeper following injury to the first choice.
He will provide stiff competition for the quartet of Ikechukwu Ezenwa, Daniel Akpeyi, Dele Ajiboye and Dele Alampasu. Uzoho has won over the hearts of many Deportivo and Nigeria football fans and if he continues in that trend, it will not be a surprise to see him arrive Russia as the first choice of Eagles.
It was interesting to see Nantes central defender, Chidozie Awaziem make a return to the team after his lacklustre performance in the 2-0 defeat at home to South Africa. Another player who will need to register his presence in the team is former Granada defender, Uche Agbo, who has struggled to break into the team for the past two years, ditto the diminutive Tyronne Ebuehi.
Also on standby are 2013 AFCON winner, Kenneth Omeruo and former junior international, Alhassan Ibrahim, who now plays for Austria Wien.
The major absentees are Elderson Echiejile and Victor Moses, who have been ruled out due to injury.
Despite the commendation, the coach may however be faulted for not inviting a natural left-back to the team. One would have expected that given the unimpressive performance of Echiejile in that role overtime, Rohr would have scouted an ideal replacement for the Monaco star on some of his trips abroad. In the absence of one, the coach would have done well by looking for alternatives in the domestic league.  I believe if Rohr and his assistants embarked on thorough scouting in the country, they would have discovered at least two natural left-backs that will give the disappointing Echiejile a push ahead of the trip to Russia. Though Ola Aina stood in for the injured Echiejile in the 1-0 win over Zambia, the last time, I however believe the Chelsea loanee, who is a natural right-back will struggle to cope if he comes up against lively wingers or attackers at the World Cup.
It is only when the options available are not good enough for a starting berth that Rohr may consider converting other defenders for the left-back role.
Not including at least three home-based players in the squad aside Ezenwa, is a disservice to the domestic league and I feel the players will feel discouraged with such development. Should the gaffer continue to ignore the abundant talents in the domestic league, our players will continue to seek transfer to less fancied leagues in Europe and Asia all in the name of being called foreign-based players.
If Alhassan Ibrahim, who left the shores of the country for Austria a few months ago, had remained with Akwa United, he would not have been considered good enough to make the standby list.
Beyond just inviting players to the team, I expect coach Rohr to hand substantial playing time to Henry Onyekuru, Anthony Nwakaeme, Ebuehi, Agbo and other fringe players starting from the Algeria tie which is an inconsequential match. With a loss, draw or win, the Eagles have landed in Russia, so it will be interesting to see how those players will perform without pressure from fans and their coaches.
Onyekuru and Nwakaeme who are both making headlines for Anderlecht (Belgium) and  Hapoel Beer Sheeva (Israel), respectively, deserve to lead the line for Eagles against the Foxes of Algeria. Rohr may also try out the central defensive pairing of Agbo and Awaziem, especially as the duo of Leon Balogun and William Troost-Ekong are unlikely to be available for all our World Cup matches. Any of the two first choice defensive pairing may sustain an injury or ruled out through suspension before or during the World Cup. It is imperative for Rohr to try out other options before the trip to Russia.
Another area where I may fault the coach is his preference for inactive players in Europe. One particular example is the invitation of Leicester forward, Ahmed Musa who has only played once for his club having found playing time difficult. The former Kano Pillars player seemed to be preparing for life after football already as he recently launched his second petrol station in Kano.
Musa’s teammate, Kelechi Iheanacho is another player that I believe should be excluded from the national team and be allowed to concentrate on breaking into his team for now.
There is no point wasting tax payers’ money to invite players that are match rusty when there are several active players scattered all over Europe and ready to commit ‘their blood’ in order to wear the green and white shirt.

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