Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr, on Monday made public his squad to execute two games in the month of November.
First, the three-time African champions will travel to Algeria for a dead-rubber World Cup qualifier on the 10th, before storming Russia to face Argentina in a glamour international friendly four days later.
A handful of changes were expected for the encounters but the Franco-German opted to stick to his trusted troops.
Yet, there were still a couple of surprises in the 24-man squad released by the gaffer.
Here’s what we observed.
- Enyeama not ready to return
A lot has been said about the proposed return of ex-skipper, Vincent Enyeama, to the national fold. But in reality, the 35-year-old isn’t ready, at least not yet. Enyeama, injured since March, has been recuperating slowly as he nears full fitness. The shot-stopper hasn’t even featured for Lille thus far. A potential return could be on the cards, but certainly not anytime soon.
- Echiejile finally gets the stick
Elderson Echiejile is undoubtedly one of his country’s most patriotic stewards. He arrives camp before every other foreign pro, never gets into a fight with anyone and carries himself with a certain sense of humility. However, his displays on the pitch have equally been far too modest by all standards. Echiejile struggles almost all the time he dons the green and white. Something Rohr is quite aware of hence dropped the Sivasspor man from his latest squad.
- Youth get chance
In the absence of some of the more-experienced stars such as Victor Moses, Rohr has opted for youth. Deportivo La Coruna of Spain safe pair of hands, Francis Uzoho (19), gets his first invite. As well as former Golden Eaglets star, Chidiebere Nwakali (20). So also, the likes of Tyronne Ebuehi (21), Ola Aina (20) and Henry Onyekuru (19) will have the chance to make a statement in their full debut.
