Antwerp of Belgium midfielder Alhassan Yusuf has been assured that he has a future in the senior national team of Nigeria as long as he continues to impress, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
The assurance was given to the 23 year old by head coach of the Nigerian team Jose Peseiro after watching his impressive showing for Antwerp in the Uefa Champions League defeat to FC Porto.
Yusuf scored the only goal in the 1-3 loss suffered by his team and kept his spot for the Belgium champions in their 1-2 loss to Club Brugge yesterday in a Belgium top division game.
Peseiro spoke with him after the game against Porto and could hand him an instant call up in November when the race to be at the 2026 World Cup in Mexico, the USA and Canada begins in November.
Yusuf is seen by the manager as a like for like replacement for Wilfred Ndidi, who is currently battling to be fit for the games against Lesotho and Zimbabwe respectively. Coach of Leicester City Enzo Maresca hasn’t given a timeline for his return.
Ndidi who now plays in an advanced midfield role for both club and country is suffering from a muscle problem and it has already kept him out od the games against Sunderland and QPR.
“The only one is Wilf,” the 43-year-old revealed in his pre-match press conference. “That looks a bit more than tiredness as we thought at the beginning, so he probably has to stay out some days or weeks.
“It’s not an important problem, just a muscular problem that we thought was not important. It’s not big, but I think at least for some days or weeks he going to be out”, Maresca said on the state of his injury.
Osas Mahawi
