There were a lot of expectations from the talented Super Eagles forward, but it all amounted to nought, as he was in a helpless situation
Super Eagles star Chidera Ejuke has expressed his disappointment after he was left out of the matchday squad in Nigeria’s painful 1-0 loss to Tunisia at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.
A lot of Nigerians had huge expectations from the CSKA Moscow dribbling wizard. He was expected to take Cameroon by storm with his outstanding skills.
However, the opposite was the case, as the former Heerenveen star was reduced to a peripheral role in the squad.
Ejuke was a late substitute in Nigeria’s first game against Egypt, and he played 57 minutes in the 2-0 victory over Guinea-Bissau. But surprisingly, he was omitted from the matchday squad in Nigeria’s final game against Tunisia.
Nevertheless, it was a decision that Super Eagles interim boss Augustine Eguavoen later wished he did not make.
On his end, Ejuke feels he deserved better, but he still respects his boss’s decision.
“None at all. But I was not included in the lineup for the game, and I was very surprised by this,” Ejuke said via the CSKA Moscow website.
“No one explained anything, there was no conversation with the coaches. OK, I understand that not everyone can get into the lineup, but I was one hundred per cent sure that I would be there. It’s a strange situation. I just had to accept it; that’s the coach’s decision.
Nonetheless, Ejuke will get another opportunity to prove his mettle when Nigeria trade tackles with Ghana in the World Cup qualifiers in March.
This post was last modified on February 6, 2022 1:16 pm
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You the writer and ejuke should keep quiet and be honest in your judgement most especially him that called himself Ejuke, now when he was used what did he contributed to the team success apart from the fact that he was destroying chances by being selfish with the balls and refuses to passed the balls to his teammates to scored, it's only chukwueze that his performance was excusable because he just came back from an injury and not him Ejuke because he played rubbish, again, it's not your right to play instead it's by merit and when you merited it you were played until you started being greedy with balls and wasted opportunities or you thought nigerians didn't see that or the coach? Many of you are inconsistent when it comes to National duty apart from our golden man ( Victor Osimhen ) dribbling wizard my foot, if Okocha was that inconsistent I wouldn't had made the name he made in super eagles and beyond, continue being selfish with balls and you will waste your chances of playing for a big clubs and that includes our national team ( super eagles )
Elvis take am easy my Bro I understand your frustration. I think Ejuke was played at a wrong position. He plays as an attacking midfielder for his club side I guess while for the national team they had him playing from the wing. These are different positions. Same thing applied to Aribo who is an attacking midfielder but was made a defensive midfielder at the AFCON. Some things that can go wrong with a team could come from positioning of players and formations. The Tunisians did a good study of our team and used it against us and it worked for them because Eguavoen and his crew did not do their part to switch things around. What's wrong in trying 4-3-3 formation where Ejuke or Aribo would have had the freedom of joining attack from the midfield for more creativity when they noticed that their 4-2-2-2 which Eguavoen used throughout wasn't working.. I think winning the first 3 games got into our heads too.
Ejuke is not a team player , he tried to put his name on the score sheet by all means. He's a good player so he shouldn't be selfish when playing for naija next time bc that's the main reason he wasn't line up for the match against Tunisia.
No doubt Ejuke is a good player.but he needs to calm down and play for the team.Not until u score for Nigeria before u can become great.i understand he wants to score for Nigeria but pls calm down the goals will definitely come.
Play as a team player , dribble when necessary n not just aimlessly which he does most times, make the right decision and he will surely work his way back into the team.But for now if he continues with his attitude of game play he will remain on the bench. I'm glad Eguavon benched him though.