The German tactician has released a 24-man list of players for Nigeria’s final two 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers later this month
Super Eagles manager Gernot Rohr has surprised many with the list of players that will play against the Benin Republic and Lesotho.
Rohr included the familiar names in the 24-man list, but there’s no place for Paul Onuachu despite the 26-year-old’s impressive form for his club.
Onuachu is Nigeria’s best striker in Europe this season with 25 league goals for Genk, but that’s still not enough to convince Rohr to hand him an invitation.
The former Bordeaux manager has publicly said he is not a fan of the ex-Middtjylland striker, and clearly, that’s not changed.
Instead, Rohr handed a debut call-up to Umar Sadiq, who, like Onuachu, is also having a brilliant season with Almeria in the Spanish second division.
Umar, similar to Onuachu, has scored 14 goals in 25 league games for Almeria this season. Meanwhile, Ahmed Musa is also among the invited players despite being without a club since October.
The team’s captain has been without a club since he left Al-Nassr in October, so his invitation is a surprise. Rohr has come in for criticism for his omission of domestic players, but there’s a space for Enyimba’s John Noble, who is one of the three goalkeepers called up.
Full List
Super Eagles 24-man team for the AFCON2021 Qualifiers vs Benin & Lesotho
GK: Okoye, Uzoho, Nobble
DF: Troost-Ekong, Omeruo, Balogun, Awaziem, Collins, Sanusi, Aina, Ebuehi
MF: Ndidi, Etebo, Ajayi, Aribo, Abdullahi
FW: Musa, Simon, Iwobi, Kalu, Osimhen, Iheanacho, Umar, Chukwueze
Please Onuachu is not Nigerians best striker. Let’s leave sentiment, he does not fut our pattern of play. He’s slow and sluggish let