2018 World Cup: Fans query Awaziem’s inclusion

Football fans are still jolted over the inclusion of Chidozie Awaziem’s inclusion in the Nigeria’s 23-man list for the 2018 FIFA World Cup holding in Russia.

Awaziem, who plays for French club FC Nantes but on loan from FC Porto as a central defender has not featured competitively for Eagles since his below-par performance in Eagles’ 2-0 loss at home to South Africa in the 2019 AFCON Qualifiers.

As Super Eagles’ coach, Genor Rohr named his final 23-man team for the Mundial after dropping Chelsea’s Ola Aina and Turkish-based Mikel Agu, football fans are yet to come to terms with Awaziem’s presence in the team despite not featuring for the Eagles in series of matches played ahead of the World Cup.

“We had thought the foreign coach will rely on merit to choose his team but we were surprised that Awaziem who has not featured for Eagles since his dismal performance against South Africa made the list ahead of Mikel Agu and Ola Aina who have both been part of the team. I am surprised that Awaziem was included in the team despite not taking active part in the warm-up to Russia. But I am sure the coach knows what he is doing and he should be ready to take responsibility for what happen in Russia,” a Lagos-based legal practitioner, Femi Ajagunna said.

A Lagos-based coach who pleaded anonymity told Sportinglife.ng yesterday that the inclusion of Awaziem once again exposed the controversy that most times trail Eagles during a major competition. “I don’t know the yardstick that the foreign coach used in picking Awaziem because the player has not shown that he is capable of making the list considering his previous performance for Eagles against South Africa and Serbia. I am sure something if fishy and I know that this will surely emerge after the World Cup,” he queried.