Luton Town defender Gabriel Osho has been ruled out of Nigeria’s international friendlies against Ghana and Mali next week, Soccernet.ng reports.
The 25-year-old centre-back earned his first Super Eagles call-up last week after a string of excellent performances for the Hatters in the Premier League.
However, his dreams of making his debut for the three-time African champions this month took a massive hit after he suffered a knee injury during Luton’s 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace.
As per Luton Today, Hatters manager Rob Edwards has all but ruled out Osho’s involvement in Nigeria’s training camp slated for Marrakech in Morocco ahead of games against Ghana’s Black Stars and Mali’s Eagles.
With Osho out of the friendlies, the Nigeria Football Federation could call up a replacement in the coming hours.
Soccernet.ng’s Imhons Erons highlights the top three defenders who should get a look-in for the Super Eagles.
Igoh Ogbu, Slavia Prague
Igoh Ogbu enjoyed an excellent year in the Czech Republic in 2023 and has narrowly missed out on earning a Super Eagles invitation several times.
Ogbu made Nigeria’s provisional squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire, indicating that the former Flying Eagles star is on the radar of the national team handlers.
The 23-year-old centre-back physically dominates attackers, is a no-nonsense tackler, and is a major reason why Slavia Prague boast the defensive record in the Czech Liga this term.
Olisa Ndah, Orlando Pirates
Since his breakout season in 2021, when he inspired Akwa United to the Nigeria Premier League title, Olisa Ndah has been in and out of the Super Eagles.
Ndah was in the national team squad that reached the knockout rounds of the 2021 AFCON, but he enjoyed little patronage from former Super Eagles boss Jose Peseiro.
With Peseiro out of the way following the expiration of his 22-month spell, Ndah could get another chance to fight for a spot in the Super Eagles.
The 26-year-old centre-back has been a rock in defence for Orlando Pirates, and he is often considered one of the best defenders in the South African Premier Soccer League.
Jordan Torunarigha, KAA Genk
After representing Germany at youth international level, Jordan Torunarigha switched allegiance to represent the Nigerian national team last year.
The former Hertha Berlin defender made his Super Eagles debut in October, helping Jose Peseiro’s men to a 3-2 friendly win over Mozambique.
Torunarigha was also on the bench during Nigeria’s last AFCON qualifying round tie against Sao Tome and Principe.
Nigeria won that match 6-0, but curiously, Peseiro did not hand Torunarigha his competitive debut in that encounter.
The 26-year-old is Nigeria’s second most valuable centre-back – behind Calvin Bassey – for a reason: he has ample experience playing in the Bundesliga and has already played 34 games in all competitions this season for Genk, scoring a goal and providing two assists.
Nigeria will play against Ghana on March 22nd before squaring up with Mali four days later.
N.B: Who would you have as Gabriel Osho’s replacement? Leave your comments below.
Absolutely spot on, Imhons. Great analysis without the bias that we tend to see in some other Nigerian sports pages. To every consideration, these three are in the best position to be considered for the slot vacated by Osho due to injury. The only other that can be added to this is Kevin Akpoguma, although he’s yet to bring his A-game to Super Eagles in the few opportunities that he’s got so far.
Thanks for your kind words, Aleks And I agree that Akpoguma deserves another chance to impress.
Good analysis , but I think we need to give these defenders opportunity to prove their worth, Nigeria is in need of defenders as we boast of lethal and sharp attackers and good midfielders as well.
secondly, Nigeria need Amunike to take up SE ASAP.