Former Super Eagles manager, Adegboye Onigbinde, has said that the quick recovery of the injured duo of Mikel Obi and Victor Moses and the rediscovery of form by Ahmed Musa will be key to the team’s qualification.
Nigeria battles Cameroon in the countdown to the Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup in August.
Musa’s form has dipped of late as he had to play as substitute in the Super Eagles while not getting considerable match time in his Premiership club, Leicester. Mikel and Moses last featured for Nigeria in the 3-1 victory over Algeria last November in the World Cup qualifier.
Incidentally, all goals for Nigeria were scored by the duo, with Chelsea’s Moses scoring twice. Victor Moses has been on and off in the Super Eagles due to injury. Even though he featured prominently for Chelsea in the season just ended, he is reported to have been playing with injured toe and had to take strong analgesic injections to be able to play.
He therefore opted for an operation ahead of the coming English football season. Nigerians will only hope he recovers before the back-to-back World Cup encounters with African champions, Cameroon.
Eagles injury woes were compounded with the absence of first choice goalkeeper, Carl Ikeme. He too was absent in the match against the Bafana Bafana in Uyo. Reliable central defender, Leon Balogun also missed the last Super Eagles’ fixture with South Africa also owing to injury, just like the captain of the squad, Mikel Obi who had to be operated on in London last April.
A report by Vanguard quotes Chief Onigbindeas saying that Nigeria’s home loss to South Africa in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers was largely due to the absence of key players. He singled out that of Mikel Obi and Victor Moses.
“Nigeria’s loss to South Africa was due to the absence of Mikel and Moses. I am not saying other players are not good enough to play for the national team, but the experience, the inspiration and leadership qualities of Mikel and Moses would have made the great difference. I noticed we lost due to lack of experienced players who can create chances with ease. I believe both Mikel and Moses can save Rohr’s job if they are available in the next match.
“I am confident that the Super Eagles will beat Cameroon, at least in the first fixture. A win in the match will give Nigeria a nine-point head start before going into the reverse fixtures of the World Cup qualifying draw.
“Rohr will certainly get more pressure should he lose his next game against Cameroon. I only pray he snubs inexperienced players who claim to ply their trade in Europe. He needs the hungry and adventurous players who can take on any opposition, especially a team that is very physical like Cameroon”, Onigbinde said.
