Super Eagles assistant coach Daniel Ogunmodede has revealed that a significant number of home-based players from the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) will be included in the Nigeria squad for this month’s Unity Cup in London, Soccernet.ng reports.
The four-nation invitational tournament, scheduled to take place at Brentford’s GTech Community Stadium from May 27 to 31, will feature Nigeria, Ghana, Jamaica, and Trinidad & Tobago.
The tournament format pits Jamaica against Trinidad & Tobago in the opener, while Nigeria face long-time rivals Ghana on May 28. Winners of both matches will meet in the final, while the losers battle for third place.
With the tournament falling outside of the FIFA international window, the Super Eagles coaching crew, led by Eric Chelle, has opted to turn to the domestic league for fresh talent.
Super Eagles coach Ogunmodede confirms surprise Unity Cup call-ups for NPFL stars
“The Unity Cup is an opportunity for us to see some new players that ought to be seen, inclusive of the home-based,” Ogunmodede said as per Sports247.
“That’s why, recently, he [Chelle] watched some of the Nigerian league matches. He watched the players and discussed with some of them. That’s why we keep saying it, that these players have to be consistent, because they don’t know who is watching them at each point in time.”
Ogunmodede, who recently led Remo Stars to their maiden NPFL title with two matches to spare, confirmed that Chelle is regularly in touch with him regarding potential domestic call-ups.
“He can say anytime, ‘I have watched this one. Maybe we could bring him in? What do you think, Daniel?’ Yes, we discuss a lot. That’s why I can say for a fact that, for this London game, a lot of home-based players will be there,” he added.
While Ogunmodede stopped short of confirming reports that Super Eagles captain Ahmed Musa – presently at Kano Pillars – will lead the team at the Unity Cup, he did acknowledge the technical crew's commitment to evaluating local talent, given the scheduling constraints.
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“This national team is not a gang where you think we’ll just wake up and pick a player one day, just because we like him. We put in a lot of hard work,” he said.
“You know, in the national team, you can’t have one month together … except during a competition. Even at that, you can’t have two months together. So, the little time you have together, you will have to bring in all information and link it into training in less than five days. That’s a whole lot of work.”
Meanwhile, Getafe star Chrisantus Uche will earn his first senior call-up ahead of the Unity Cup, according to Score Nigeria.
Uche, who plays predominantly as an attacking midfielder for Getafe, has scored three goals in 30 La Liga appearances this season in what has been a breakthrough campaign in Spain.
The 21-year-old midfielder was named in Nigeria’s provisional squad for March's World Cup qualifiers but miss out on the final 23-man shortlist.
Beyond the Unity Cup, the Super Eagles are also scheduled to take on Russia in a high-profile friendly in Moscow early next month.
