The list of players who will represent the senior national team of Nigeria in the world cup qualifiers games against South Africa and Benin Republic was made public by the coach of the team Finidi George.
A total of 25 players were called up from the provisional list of 35 players who were sent invitations for the game. However there are doubts over the fitness of five players in the team, including top striker Victor Osimhen.
Osimhen was only fit enough as a substitute for Napoli in their final game of the season against Lecce. He has missed the last two games of the team with a muscular injury.
His case is even better than that of trio of Kelechi Iheanacho, Frank Onyeka and Samuel Chukwueze who have been inactive for a period not less than one month for their respective teams.
Onyeka has played a total of 17 minutes since the 30th of March and wasn’t even listed by Brentford in their final two games of the season. Chukwueze hasn’t played for AC Milan since the 11th of May, the case of Iheanacho is even worse as he has only managed a total of 57 minutes for Leicester City since returning from the AFCON in February.
It is safe to say the above mentioned players will be match rusty for the games, leaving the newly appointed fitness trainer Chima Onyeike with the task of bringing them up to speed for both games.
Onyeike was born in Zeist, Netherlands in 1975 to a Nigerian father and he played in the Dutch League.Onyeike pursued a sports science degree, a decision that fueled his transition from being a player to a fitness coach.
Picked as one of his assistants by new coach Finidi George, his first major task will be the fitness of the above mentioned players for the crunch games, which are pivotal to the chances of Nigeria making it to the 2026 world cup.
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
