Over the past week, we have witnessed some big stories come out both on and off the pitch. In her usual tradition, Soccernet.ng gives a recap of some of the big stories you may have missed out on last week.
Gernot Rohr Releases Super Eagles Squad To Face Benin And Lesotho: Just over five months after the 2019 Africa Cup Of Nations in Egypt ended, the race for the 2021 edition starts this month. The qualifiers for the tournament in Cameroon begin in a fortnight.
Super Eagles manager, Gernot Rohr has named the squad that will face Benin Republic, and Lesotho in the first games of Group L. Regular suspects like Alex Iwobi, William Troost Ekong were all invited, while Ahmed Musa makes a return after missing out in the last two friendlies against Ukraine and Brazil.
The biggest surprise in the list, however, is Mikel Agu who was invited ahead of Ogenekaro Etebo. The Stoke City player who is one of the key members in Rohr’s team was placed on standby for the two games.
Simon and Josh Maja Light Up French League Cup: Two Nigerians were both on target for their respective clubs in the French League cup. Moses Simon was in red hot form as he scored a hat-trick in Nantes 8-0 win over Paris FC, while Josh Maja scored Bordeaux’s first goal in the 2-0 win over Dijon.
Iheanacho On Target: In what was a rare start for him, Kelechi Iheanacho scored his second goal of the season in Leicester City’s 3-1 win over Burton Albion. It was Iheanacho’s second goal in the competition, but the Nigerian international has endured a difficult campaign at the King Power Stadium this season.
He has yet to feature for the Foxes in the Premier League this season and has found himself left out of the matchday squad for most times.
Golden Eaglets March On: After coming back to beat Hungary in their opening match, the Golden Eaglets backed up the win with another come from behind victory against Ecuador. However, they suffered their first loss of the tournament in the last group match against Australia, but they still qualified as group winners.
Premier League Drama: There were late dramas in some of the Premier League games played this weekend. Liverpool scored twice in the last five minutes to come from behind and beat Aston Villa. Title rivals, City, also left it late against Southampton to win 2-1. However, the weekend ended on a tragic note as Andre Gomes suffered a horrific injury in Everton’s 1-1 draw against Spurs.
We send our wishes to the Portugal international.
