Super Eagles’ assistant coach, Imama Amapakabo has invited Heartland of Owerri goalkeeper, Ikechukwu Ezenwa to the home-based national team, as the tactician aims to add more levels of experience in his bid to overturn a 4-1 deficit against Togo in the 2020 Championship of African Nations (CHAN) qualifiers, megasportsarena.com reports.
Heading into this Saturday’s second leg, Amapakabo has extended invitations to Ezenwa, who opted out of the domestic players’ squad that went to Senegal for the West African Football Union (WAFU) Cup of Nations, in order to be part of the main team’s friendly against Brazil, while Katsina United youngster, Destiny Ashadi and Kano Pillars striker, Nyima Nwagua are also new additions to the roster to battle Togo at Agege Stadium, Lagos.
Ashadi, who has been the creative force behind Katsina’s success since they gained promotion to the Nigeria elite league four years ago, is expected to join the rest of the squad in Abuja along with Ifeanyi Aneamena (Enyimba), Anthony Shimaga (Rangers) and Ifeanyi Nweke (Kano Pillars).
The team now have a huge mountain to climb as they must score at least three unreplied goals past Togo to qualify for the championship slated for Cameroon next June, ahead of which Ezenwa will hope to regain his captain’s band with the squad he led to the last edition at Senegal 2018.
It will be a fresh opportunity for Ezenwa to play himself back into main national team reckoning, as Eagles head caoch, Gernot Rohr said one of the reasons why the former FC Ifeanyiubah of Nnewi, Enyimba of Aba and Katsina United shot-stopper was not used in Sunday’s friendly against Brazil is because he lacks competitive game time in recent months.
The Franco-German tactician noted that Ezenwa, who is number two in the pecking order of Nigeria’s goalkeepers, has not tasted action since the conclusion of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, whereas the lad who replaced Francis Odinaka Uzoho, Emil Maduka Okoye has been active for Fortuna Düsseldorf’s reserve team in the Regionalliga West.
”We decided to put in Maduka because Ezenwa didn’t play for months, not even in the CHAN Team. He didn’t have any experience of competition in the last three months so we decided to play with Maduka because he was playing for his club,” Rohr submitted.
Meanwhile, in contrast with initial reports that the game will hold at Stephen Kershi Stadium, Asaba, a statement by the communications department of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) on Monday disclosed that the match between the home-based Eagles and Hwaks of Togo will take place at Agege Stadium, Lagos on Saturday, 19th October, starting at 4pm.
