Nduka Ugbade, assistant coach of Nigeria’s Under-20 team, has revealed that lack of fitness played a part in Kelechi Iheanacho’s travails at the 2015 FIFA Under-20 World Cup in New Zealand.
Iheanacho started Nigeria’s first game of the competition against Brazil but never started another game as the Flying Eagles bowed out in the round of 16 following a truly dour defeat to Germany.
Ugbade has now moved to explain that Iheanacho was a few paces behind most of his teammates at the World Cup.
“There are no big names in our team. We gave (players like) Kelechi Iheanacho and Success Isaac the opportunity. Everybody in the team was treated like equals.
“If Kelechi is such a big name as many say he is, how come he is not playing in the first team at Manchester City?
“He (Iheanacho) came into the camp with just two days to our first match and that was not good enough for him to play all the matches.
“His level of fitness was not (at par with) the others and that was the main issue.
“People do not make decisions for us whether or not Kelechi plays,” he told Nigeria Info FM.
Iheanacho played in just two games (one as a substitute) in Nigeria’s campaign in New Zealand.