Napoli forward Victor Osimhen has opted out Super Eagles forthcoming friendly against Mexico and Ecuador respectively. According to ESPN, the former Lille ace who was part of the Super Eagles squad to the last Nations cup in Cameroon and the squad that failed to pick a ticket to the World cup in Qatar, has chosen to miss both friendlies as the Eagles attempt to re-shape and perhaps regain confidence.
“He called and asked us to excuse him for personal reasons” ESPN quoted an unnamed source at the Glass House as saying.
Stand-in coach Salisu Yusuf it will be recalled named a 30-man squad on Wednesday for the friendly which is part of the team’s build up to the 2023 Nations Cup qualifiers in June.
Osimhen is however not the only regular that will be missing the Mexico and Ecuador party billed for May 28 in Texas and Red Bull Arena in New Jersey on June 3rd respectively.
Goalkeeper Francis Uzoho who apologised after his lackluster performance in goal during the play-off against Ghana at the Abuja stadium denied Nigeria World cup ticket will be missing same with Kaiser Chiefs safehand Daniel Akpeyi, Leicester City duo Kelechi Iheanacho and Wilfred Ndidi.
However the inclusion of eight home based players has been hailed as one way of offering them a platform to showcase their skills. They include goalkeepers Olorunleke Ojo from Enyimba and Akwa United’s Adewale Adeyinka. Other NPFL players in the team include Isa Ali (Remo Stars) Ibrahim Buhari (Plateau United) Chiamaka Madu (Rivers United); Babatunde Afeez Nosiru (Kwara United) Victor Mbaoma (Enyimba FC) and Ishaq Rafiu (Rivers United)