NEWS

Aina, Chukwueze, Iheanacho Ruled Out Of Russia Friendly

ovanews 1 year ago 2 min read

Nations Cup Draw: Super Eagles in Pot A, To Avoid Morocco, Senegal, Egypt By Taiwo Ibrahim The Draw Ceremony for the 35th Africa Cup of Nations finals will take place at the Mohamed V National Theatre in Rabat, Casablanca on Monday evening. Three-time African champions Nigeria have been placed in Pot 1, alongside seven-time winners Egypt, three-time champions and Cup holders Cote d’Ivoire, two-time winners Algeria, hosts, and 1976 champions Morocco and 2021 winners Senegal. As a result of being in the same pot with the African heavyweight teams, Nigeria will avoid playing against any of them in the group stage. Super Eagles Coach Éric Sékou Chelle and Team Administrator, Dayo Enebi Achor, alongside the Chairman of NFF Technical and Development Committee, Alhaji Sharif Rabiu Inuwa will attend the colourful ceremony in Morocco. The final tournament that begins on 21st December, and ends on 18th January is the first ever to start in a particular year and run into another year. Morocco will play host to Africa again since hosting the 1988 tournament that was won by Cameroon. Nigeria’s Super Eagles hold the record for the most medals from the 68-year-old championship: 16 in 20 previous participations. They are three-time winners (1980, 1994, 2013), finished as runners-up on five occasions (1984, 1988, 1990, 2000 and 2023), and took the bronze eight times (1976, 1978, 1992, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2010 and 2019). The Eagles lost out in the quarter-finals in 2008 and were eliminated in the second round in 2021. Only in their debut in 1963, and as Cup holders in 1982, have the Eagles failed to proceed beyond the tournament group phase. Egypt will be appearing in their 27th tournament; Côte d’Ivoire 26th and; Cameroon and Tunisia 22nd. Hosts Morocco are appearing in their 20th finals and 2012 champions Zambia in their 19th. 2021 winners Senegal are appearing in their 18th final tournament. Nigeria have also played a total of 104 matches at the final tournament, 4th overall behind Egypt (111), Côte d’Ivoire (106) and Ghana (105). Nigeria’s Rashidi Yekini (of blessed memory) scored 13 goals across four final tournaments between 1988 and 1994. Pot 1: Morocco, Senegal, Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire Pot 2: Cameroon, Mali, Tunisia, South Africa, DR Congo, Burkina Faso Pot 3: Gabon, Angola, Zambia, Uganda, Equatorial Guinea, Benin Republic Pot 4: Mozambique, Comoros, Tanzania, Sudan, Zimbabwe, BotswanaThe Super Eagles Team

Six Super Eagles players have been ruled out of the international friendly match against Russia in Moscow on Friday due to different reasons.

The Nigeria Football Federation confirmed that the likes of Ola Aina, Wilfred Ndidi, Samuel Chukwueze, Kelechi Iheanacho, Sadiq Umar and Nathan Tella have been excused from the squad due to reasons ranging from withdrawal and injuries.

Ola Aina excused himself from the encounter due to family issues, and Chelle has replaced him with Sodiq Ismaila, and Benjamin Fredericks.

Stand-in captain William Troost-Ekong is in Russia after missing the Unity Cup alongside Bright Osayi-Samuel, joining the duo of Bruno Onyemaechi, Semi Ajayi and Igoh Ogbu who participated in the Unity Cup.

Wilfred Ndidi is injured and he has been ruled out of the encounter, he has been replaced by Enugu Rangers star Saviour Isaac. He will battle it out with the likes of Frank Onyeka, Raphael Onyedika, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, Christantus Uche and Papa Daniel Mustapha for a spot in the midfield.

Samuel Chukwueze, and Kelechi Iheanacho have been excused from the squad for family reasons, while Sadiq Umar is injured, and Nathan Tella’s passport is undergoing renewal, and he is unable to travel.

Chelle has invited Krasnodar FC forward Olakunle Olusegun to cover for the shortage of forwards in the squad.

The match is set for Friday, June 6, at the iconic Luzhniki Stadium, which boasts a capacity of 78,000 seats.

Aina, Chukwueze, Iheanacho Ruled Out Of Russia Friendly is first published on The Whistler Newspaper