Former Super Eagles’ defender and head coach, Augustine Eguavoen will return to national team duty next month as handler of a home-based squad that will feature at an invitational competition in Congo, megasportsarena.com reports
The former Eagles’ captain will have the pleasure of finally taking charge of the home-based quad, after he was denied entry visa to the United States of America for the team’s previous game against Mexico, which they lost 4-0 in Los Angeles.
This time out, ‘Cerezo’ will bank on the availability of Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) top scorer of the past season, Silas Nwankwo, from Nasarawa United of Lafia, among the array of domestic stars to count on in Congo.
Nwankwo, who scooped the recent Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) player of the year award, after he top-scored in the NPFL with 19 goals, is prominent in the roll call of 26 players from the home front that will feature in the invitational tournament.
Among those that featured in the dismal lose to Mexico in July and recalled for this outing are Stanley Nwabili, Tope Olusesi and Adekunle Adeleke, with all three expected to star prominently in the squad that will be handled by ‘Egu’ in his capacity as NFF’s technical director, with assistance from Paul Osahon Aigbogun.
The squad has three goalkeepers in Stanley Nwabali (Lobi Stars), Mohammed Galadima (Wikki Tourists) and Adewale Adeyinka (Akwa United), as well as eight defenders: Christopher Nwaeze (Kwara United), Afeez Nosiru (Kwara United), Sanusi Abdulmutalif (Katsina United), Tope Olusesi (Rangers) and Fahad Usman (Kano Pillars).
The invited defenders also include Henry Ochuba (Adamawa United), Adeleke Adekunle (Abia Warriors) and Ibrahim Buhari (Plateau United), while the midfielders are Steven Jude (Kwara United), Ugochuckwu Ugwuoke (Rangers), Cyril Olisema (Enyimba), Auwalu Ali Mallam (Rivers United), Mustapha Jibrin (Kano Pillars), Aliyu Mansoor (Katsina United), Chigozie Obasi (Enyimba)
Nwankwo is listed alongside seven other forwards, being Christian Nnaji, Chinonso Eziekwe (Rangers), Tosin Omoyele (Enyimba), Nerot Silas (Plateau United), Uche Onwuasonaya (Rivers United), Emo James (Bayelsa United) and Rabiu Zulkifilu (Plateau United).
