Eagles’ 35-MAN squad out May 7
.Selected players to prosecute Congo's game in Nigeria, NFF to submit list May 14
Nigeria’s senior soccer team’s manager Gernot Rohr is ready to disclose the names of the 35 players penciled down in the country’s provisional list on May 7, barring any last minute changes due to injuries to anyone of them.
Nigeria’s senior soccer team’s manager Gernot Rohr is ready to disclose the names of the 35 players penciled down in the country’s provisional list on May 7, barring any last minute changes due to injuries to anyone of them.
In fact, going by Rohr’s plans, according to one of his confidants, the 35-man squad would be in camp to prosecute the international friendly game against Congo holding in Nigeria at a yet-to-disclosed venue later in May. Rohr also plans to get the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to submit the provisional 35-man squad to FIFA before the May 14 deadline for the Russia 2018 World Cup.
Rohr wants to monitor closely two of the invited players from the domestic league, namely goalkeeper Ikechukwu Ezenwa and striker Gabriel Okechukwu to see how they are faring and see how well they play for their teams. The source stated that Rohr wants to pick at least six home-based players into the 35-man squad when the team assembles at a yet-to-be disclosed camp in Europe to prepare for the Mundial.
Sportinglife.ng gathered from different sources that Rohr wouldn’t be sticking to his squad and would only make changes where the need arises stressing that: ”I think he isn’t resting on his oars by sticking with his current squad, unless otherwise.
One thing that I can tell you is that there would be stiff competition for shirts among the players such that when the final 23-man squad is released, it would be Nigeria’s best.”
When Sportinglife.ng probed further if the manager was sincere in his submission about adding new players in the squad, one of the sources retorted: ”I think he would make two or three changes, especially in positions where those picked get injured or fail to hit the required standard for making Nigeria’s final 23 -man squad to the Mundial.”
But, another decent source close to Rohr disclosed to Sportinglife.ng that the manager has tasked his scouting teams to look for good players, but with a condition that such new boys are exceptionally better than those he has in the squad already.