Sports
Pinnick Wants England U-21Star To Improve Super Eagles
Nigeria Football Federation (NFF)President, Amaju Pinnickhas said that persuading England Under-21 player, Ebere Eze to play for the Super Eagles would improve the squad.
The NFF is hoping to convince the Queen’s Park Rangers midfielder to play for them rather than England at senior level.
Eze, who was born in England to Nigerian parents, played twice for the Three Lions at under-21 level in November.
But Pinnick wants Eze to switch allegiances to boost Nigeria’s midfield as they plan for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
“We need to make a solid representation at Qatar 2022 and it starts with improving on your squad with quality players like Eze,” he insisted.
“Can you imagine a midfield with Ndidi, Aribo, Etebo and Eze? it is one that will improve our squad.”
Pinnick has already held meetings with the 21-year-old and his parents and believes they have gone well.
“I had a positive meeting with Ebere Eze in London and I spoke to his parents as well,” said Pinnick.
“He requested for the chance to continue to focus on his club career which is going well so far, and that further progress will be made in due course
“But I am confidently hopeful that he will play for Nigeria soon,” he said.
Eze, who has scored seven goals and provided four assists so far this season, is considered as one of the hottest prospects outside of the Premier League.
His late penalty double and overall performance in a 3-2 away win at Hull City in October were particularly eye-catching.
However Pinnick’s public pursuit of the player has come under criticism from fans and local media, after a similar approach with Tammy Abraham ended in failure as the Chelsea striker chose to play for England instead.
“I have no regrets talking to Eze, who visited me at home with his girlfriend,” he added.
Nigeria have previously succeeded in snapping up former England youth internationals like Sone Aluko, Victor Moses, Shola Ameobi, Alex Iwobi and Ola Aina for the Super Eagles.
Eze was one of a number of British-born players, along with Ola Aina and Chuka Akpom, invited to train with the Nigeria squad in London back in March 2017 – following a cancelled friendly with Burkina Faso.
Uncapped and overlooked by coach Gernot Rohr after the London gathering, the former Wycombe Wanderers loanee then went on to earn seven caps for the England under-20’s between 2018 and 2019.
In August 2018, he agreed a new contract to stay at Championship club QPR until 2021.
A well-known football pundit in the State, Chief Christopher Okonkwo has lauded the efforts and vision of the Super Eagles Coach Eric Chelle for going from one venue of the Nigeria Domestic Nigeria Professional Football League match to the other in monitoring Nigerian players, with a view to invite some exceptional good one discovered into the main stream of the Super Eagles team.
Okonkwo, who made the commendation in an interview at the Port Harcourt Club recently, described the positive move by Coach Chelle as a good step in the right direction, noting that the practice was how its been done in the past among any contracted coach assigned to tinker the Super Eagles team.
“Truly, it has been an old tradition in the country seeing any newly engaged Coach to lead the National team, visiting some our Nigeria League venues during the league matches to spot light some good talents that could be used to beef up some grey areas in the department of Eagles team”
He, however, frowned at the current situation where our coaches had continously been over depending on the use of foreign based players during invitation of players to the National camp, thereby, relegating the domestic home based league players to the background as if they have nothing much to offer to the team.
“I can vividly recall that the likes of great players in the mode of Finidi George, Taribo West, Kanu Nwankwo, Austin Okocha, Richard Owobokiri, Emmanuel Osuigwe among others started from Nigeria football league before they graduated to play in Europe through which they later invited to Super Eagles camp to represent Nigeria”
“Besides, I’m also of the view that going to secondary school football competitive games could equally serves as a a good platform to discover budding talents that could be nurtured to become great stars in near future”, Okonkwo frankly added.
Okonkwo, therefore, prayed that any football coach to be engaged by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to tinker the Super Eagles should be told not to confine himself in staying in big hotel alone but to be visiting some of our local league match venues, with a view to discover some good players that can be drafted into the Super Eagles team.
“Indeed, I stand to be challenged that there some young good players in the Nigeria Professional League. If spotted and exposed, could give the some of the invited foreign based players a stiff competitive fight in securing a postion in the team”, Okonkwo emphatically stated.
Ezechukwu, one of the youngest members of the Nigerian contingent at the championship in Ghana, said her ambition was to win the 100m title in style and cap it with a new personal record.
The fresh secondary school graduate explained that she is fully focused on contributing to Team Nigeria’s medal hopes and is determined to deliver strong performances across her events.
“My main objective in Ghana is to clinch the 100m title and the 4×100m,” Ezechukwu told Tidesports source.
“Nigeria can be assured of my very best and my commitment to the Team. I would love to set a new personal best in Ghana, but anything that comes, I will take it. The spirit in the team is high, and I think we are ready to go,” she said.
Ezechukwu, who was part of Nigeria’s women’s 4x100m relay squad at the World Relays in Botswana, said the experience gained from that competition has strengthened her mindset heading into the continental championships.
She admitted that she learned valuable lessons from her previous outing, including a difficult moment during the relay where an early error affected the team’s rhythm, but said she has used the experience to improve her discipline and composure.
“The secret is just being disciplined, training hard and trusting my coach and believing in God, and the result will show,” she added.
The teenager is part of a 41-member Nigerian team comprising 24 female and 17 male athletes competing at the championships, which begin today at the University of Ghana, Legon.
Nigeria are expected to compete across multiple track and field events as they aim for a strong finish against the continent’s elite athletes.
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