Siasia: Not the right time for new players in Nigeria squad

Samson Siasia

Thursday Mar 10, 2022. 10:00

Former Nigeria national team player and coach Samson Siasia says now is not the time to bring new faces into the Super Eagles set-up.

Nigeria are gearing up for a crunch showdown with arch rivals Ghana later this month, with the winner of the two-legged tie claiming a place in the finals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Current national team coach Augustine Eguavoen recently named a squad of 32 players (25 primary, with seven on standby), which featured some eyebrow-raising inclusions in terms of returnees and new faces.

Ogenyi Onazi, who has been away from the national team set-up for quite some time, was named, while Oghenekaro Etebo returns from an injury lay-off, and the uncapped Ademola Lookman and Akinkunmi Amoo were also summoned.

According to Siasia, Eguavoen should have omitted such players – temporarily at least.

“You need to play people that understand themselves if you bring new ones [players] it becomes difficult for them to understand themselves and play the partner you want to play,” Siasia told Brila FM, as quoted by Vanguard.

“For me it’s not the right decision to bring new players, you are better off with the ones you know already that have been playing together and understand themselves, because you have three days to practice before you go to Ghana. So for me this is not the right list.”

The first leg between the Super Eagles and the Black Stars will be played in Cape Coast on Friday 29 March, with the return set for Abuja on Tuesday 29 March.