The team’s preparations for the big encounter on Friday evening suffered another setback following another withdrawal
Nigeria’s Super Eagles have suffered another massive blow ahead of their World Cup qualifying match against Liberia as Kevin Akpoguma has been ruled out of the encounter.
Akpoguma, who Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr handed a recall to the squad, tested positive for Coronavirus and will have to stay in quarantine.
The 26-year-old defender tested positive for the virus despite being fully vaccinated. His club Hoffenheim took to their Twitter account and their official website to announce the news.
A statement on the club’s website read: Kevin Akpoguma tested positive for Corona despite being fully vaccinated. He will not make the trip to the Nigerian national team and instead went into quarantine at home.
Kevin Akpoguma is symptom free and is fine. In addition, all present players and members of the coaching and functional team were tested. All test results were negative.
Akpoguma’s withdrawal is another massive blow to Rohr’s plans for the game against the Lone Stars. The German tactician is already without the services of Frank Onyeka, who also tested positive for coronavirus.
The former Burkina Faso manager will also have to do without the services of seven UK players for the game against Cape Verde on September 7 due to the UK’s quarantine rules.
This post was last modified on August 30, 2021 2:40 pm
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Why cry for spilled milk. Nigeria have large talented Players for NPF & so called Rohr. Always @ last moment we find obstacles?
We have to put our House in order. Search now for competent Manager who is ready to Tutor NPFL Players than troublesome foreign based Nigerian Players that consider Club service paramount than Nations Camping.
We were not @ just concluded Olympics yet we allow an unknown Germany whose passport is within reach for next flight home to mess us up.
So what then is the job of the NPFL coaches if they can teach their players the technicalities of the game? The Super Eagles team is meant for best of the best Nigerian footballers and not a training ground.All the players that Keshi coached as national team manager have faded into oblivion.Mention one player from the NPFL team of that era that stood out both club and country.Abeg,remove sentiments.I will continue to say it, the concentration of football talents in Nigeria is in the academies that are spread throughout the nation,not in the NPFL.You'll see them struggling to beat teams from Burkina Faso,The Gambia,Sudan etc. Was it not Imama Amakapabo that the last Olympic team? It's better to put the blame on the corrupt system in Nigeria such as "Pay and play" and quota system.
It just shows you lack information about the current trend of Nigeria football league. You asking the coach to draw players from the epileptic league that is not functioning. I laugh!