Ex-Super Eagles skipper, Austin Eguaveon, has come all out for head coach, Gernot Rohr, over his latest squad for the pre-World Cup friendlies against Poland and Iceland later in March.
Eguaveon, 52, a two-time coach of the team, wasn’t particularly pleased with the German’s snub of domestic players in his 28-man selection.
Only three players – Ikechukwu Ezenwa, Stephen Eze and Gabriel Okechukwu from the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) made the cut.
“I saw the list and it’s a good one,” he told Complete Sports Nigeria, “but I think there should be more players from the league in his squad.”
Indeed, Rohr largely ignored the African Nations Championship squad that reached the final in Morocco last month only to be defeated by the hosts.
Dele Ajiboye didn’t make the cut despite his semi-final heroics, while last term’s NPFL top scorer Anthony Okpotu and midfield dynamo Dayo Ojo was also overlooked.
Full-backs Osas Okoro, Daniel Itodo and Ikouweum Utin are also set to watch on from the outside next summer after missing a big opportunity to make a case for their inclusion in the squad to Russia.
“Eze was a standout player from the African Nations Championship, so he deserved his place,” Eguavoen added.
“Gabriel Okechukwu is a good striker and he possesses a certain unpredictability when playing which could be an asset,” the former international continued. “[He’s] relatively unknown, and could spring surprises.”
