Iheanacho Leads UK-based Players out of Eagles’ Camp

Femi Solaja

In fulfilment of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) agreement with United Kingdom based clubs, seven Super Eagles players left the Super Eagles’ camp last night for respective clubs.

Two-goal hero in Nigeria’s 2-0 victory over Lone Star of Liberia, Kelechi Iheanacho, along with his Leicester City team mate, Wilfred Ndidi left the team’s camp’s in high spirit with the hope that the rest of their compatriot will finish the job at Cape Verde on Tuesday.=

“They would have loved to remain in camp for the next match but the agreement NFF had with their clubs compelled the federation not to renege so had to excuse them fly back to their clubs,” a top level Sunday Dankaro House source confirmed to THISDAY yesterday.

Others who joined Iheanacho and Ndidi on the return journey to England include; Oghenekaro Etebo and William Troost-Ekong both of Watford FC, Alex Iwobi of Everton, and the duo of Leon Balogun and Joe Aribo from Glasgow Rangers in the Scottish Premiership.

Both Frank Onyeka of Brentford and Emmanuel Dennis of Watford were dropped at the last minute of to reduce the list of Invited players to 30.

The remaining 19 players in camp with Coach Rohr are expected to jet out of Lagos at 1:00am on Monday to Mindelo for the Match Day-2 of the World Cup 2022 qualifying series against the Blue Sharks of Cape Verde.

The match will take place at the 5,000 capacity Estadio Municipal Aderito Sena on the island of Mindelo on Tuesday.

Should Nigeria avoid defeat on the fortress ground of the new dark horse of African football, the team will consolidate in its top of the log following the massive win against Liberia last Friday in Lagos.

“The Cape Verde match will not be easy considering the exit of some of our key players from the United Kingdom. We have just two days to train and we have to play on a synthetic pitch in the Southern Hemisphere.

“We have to adapt to two extreme situations. The win in Lagos was on wet grass and under a difficult situation and here we are going to another extreme surface, a dry hard pitch (Synthetic surface) which is not going to be easy for my players to adapt easily,” mourned the Franco-German tactician last night.