Nigeria: Reprieve for Flying Eagles Trio

15 July 2011

Flying Eagles coach John Sam Obuh has forgiven the three players who have stayed away from his training camp in Portugal ahead of the Under-20 World Cup in Colombia.

Skipper Ramon Azeez, Stanley Okoro and Aliyu Mohammed will no longer be teaming up with the Nigeria Under-20 team in Europe after they delayed in getting their passports for visas.

“I have forgiven the players. We could all see that the problem of them not joining up with us in Portugal was not from us but the players and those handling them,” Obuh said.

“What is now left is for me to decide who among them could add value to the squad I’m already preparing.”

The Junior Eagles will leave Faro 2am Friday for Lisbon, where they will connect a flight to Amsterdam after which they will set out on an 11-hour flight to Panama City.

Meanwhile, coach Obuh has attributed his team’s below-par showing to anxiety by the players over who will make the final cut for the World Cup. “I’m certainly not satisfied with what the boys played against Portugal,” he said.

“It was the entire team and not just a handful of players and one could attribute it to the fact the players were either being too careful or too overzealous all in the bid to impress and in the end they make many mistakes. “I believe we will improve a lot more especially when the tension over the final squad is over.”

AllAfrica – All the Time