Sports
Balogun, Iheanacho, other Eagles with limited club action to face Zimbabwe
Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr has hinted that players that did not get enough actions in their clubs will play in the friendly game against Zimbabwe this weekend.
The Eagles are currently in camp in Asaba, Delta State, where they’re having their final preparations ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
The Zimbabwe clash, billed for the Stephen Keshi Stadium, is one of the games lined up for the team’s warm-up before the AFCON tournament in Egypt kicks off later this month.
Speaking to reporters at the Asaba camp, Rohr said the likes of of Leon Balogun and Kelechi Iheanacho, who struggled for regular playing time at Brighton and Leicester City respectively, will feature in the friendly.
Balogun only made eight league appearances for Brighton, while Iheanacho started most of Leicester City’s games from the bench.
Read Also: Flying Eagles knocked out of FIFA U-20 World Cup by Senegal
“I want to see a lot of players who are not playing so much, give them the opportunity to play,” Rohr said after Monday’s training session.
“It can be for some defenders like Balogun, he is fit but he didn’t play so much, so we want to see him playing on Saturday and also some players like Kelechi who didn’t play at all, so we want to see him play on Saturday.”
After the Zimbabwe friendly, the Eagles are scheduled to battle Senegal in their last pre-tournament warm-up game billed for the Ismailia Stadium in Egypt on June 16.
Nigeria will begin their AFCON 2019 campaign on June 22nd when they face newbies Burundi.
They will later take on Guinea at the same venue four days after, before wrapping up their group encounters against Madagascar on June 30.
The AFCON 2019 is billed to take place in Egypt from the 21st of June to the 19th of July.
Join the conversation
Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism
Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.
As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.
If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.
Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.
INVESTIGATION: In Kwara, multimillion-naira milk processing plant is abandoned, converted to a chicken outlet
After the government spent millions of naira to establish a milk processing plant in Kwara State that would provided jobs...
SPECIAL REPORT: For Sokoto communities, promise of healthcare is akin to death sentence
In this story, ABDULRASHEED HAMMAD delves into the dire realities of Primary Health Care services in Sokoto State, shedding light...
ICYMI…SPECIAL REPORT: NNPCL hides behind PIA to frustrate disclosure, accountability
Nigeria’s major oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), in what appears to be a common practice of disregard...
INVESTIGATION: Multi-million naira Ekiti resort center remains uncompleted a decade after
The multimillion-naira project, expected to comprise recreational buildings, now consists of cassava farmland, a bush used for excretion, and a...
SPECIAL REPORT: Torturous experiences of students with disabilities in Oyo tertiary institutions
For students with disabilities in Oyo state-owned tertiary institutions, learning is a torturous and distressing experience, considering the building structures...