Leon Balogun failed to train with the rest of the Nigeria squad on Thursday morning, and is now a major doubt for Saturday’s World Cup opener against Croatia.
The Brighton and Hove Albion defender was conspicuously missing from the team’s last session in Essentuki, and team sources told KweséESPN he had gone for a scan.
The results of the scan were still being awaited as the team left Essentuki for Kaliningrad on Thursday afternoon.
In the event that Balogun is unable to start on Saturday,…
Nigeria players were paid their World Cup bonuses over two weeks before their opening tournament fixture against Croatia, according to NFF President Amaju Pinnick and confirmed by players.
In November, the NFF signed an agreement with the player…
A second defeat in as many games leaves Gernot Rohr with plenty of work to do in the days before Nigeria travel to Russia for the World Cup.
A lethargic first half was followed by a slightly less downbeat second as the Super Eagles imposed their…
Nigeria will travel to this summer’s World Cup in Russia with a 23-man squad that includes 13 youth team graduates, the highest number since their first appearance in 1994.
Team captain John Mikel Obi is the poster boy for these graduates, having played at the U-17 World Cup in 2003 and U-20 in 2005.
In 1985, Nigeria stunned the world by winning the inaugural edition of the FIFA U-17 World Championship, beating Germany 2-1 in the final.
Since then, the country have built a consistent record of achievement…
Ed Dove discusses what fans can expect from Nigeria at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
It’s now looking almost certain that Francis Uzoho, an untested, inexperienced teenager with only two La Liga outings for Deportivo La Coruna will be Nigeria’s first-choice goalkeeper at the World Cup in Russia.
Uzoho will not be 20 until October, but on Tuesday, Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr confirmed that the youngster will start again for the Super Eagles against the Czech Republic in Austria on Wednesday.
That will make it the fifth consecutive start for the former junior international, and his…
Ogenyi Onazi has admitted that he played a poor game against England and that he needs to improve before the World Cup.
The midfielder was hooked at halftime after a nightmare first 45 minutes in Nigeria’s 2-1 defeat to England at Wembley on Saturday, and told KweséESPN that it was a “disappointing game” for him.
“Saturday was a really disappointing game for us, especially for me in the first half. But this is part of life, this part of football. You just need to learn from your mistakes and…
Ola Aina and Mikel Agu were the last two casualties as Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr settled on his final 23-man World Cup squad.
Neither player took part in the 2-1 friendly defeat to England at Wembley, where the Super Eagles recovered from a dismal first half to provide some confidence going into the tournament in Russia.
“It’s Ola Aina and Mikel Agu,” Rohr told KweséESPN just before the team made their way to the airport on Sunday morning to leave for the final phase of their training camp…
A horrific first half performance followed by a thrilling second 45 showed the two sides of Gernot Rohr’s young Super Eagles as they lost 2-1 to England at Wembley on Saturday night.
Abysmal displays all over the pitch, including Rohr’s choice of tactics, left Nigeria exposed time and time again in the first half.
However, positives will be taken from the collective performance after the break, and how well they adapted to the coach’s formation tweaks after the break.
FRANCIS…
As Nigeria prepare for the 2018 World Cup, KweséESPN’s Colin Udoh picks his all-time Nigeria dream team of players to have featured at the tournament.
There’s optimism around Gernot Rohr’s side as they approach the showpiece in Russia, but few would rank this side among the greatest Super Eagles teams to have competed at the Mundial.
Instead, they’re primed to follow in the footsteps of some of Nigeria’s great teams from yesteryear, and the eleven players who we’ve picked in our greatest Super…
Nigeria’s Alex Iwobi and Ola Aina have promised to bombard Dele Alli with banter, hoping that it will help the Super Eagles beat England in their friendly international on Saturday.
Alli (whose full first name is Bamidele) was eligible to represent the African nation through his Nigerian father, but chose to throw his lot in with England where he was born and has lived all his life.
Meanwhile, Lagos-born Iwobi and London-born Aina chose Nigeria for senior international football but they played alongside…