The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Alhassan Ibrahim

  • AFCON: Rohr not under pressure to field players

    AFCON: Rohr not under pressure to field players

    The Super Eagles Coach, Gernot Rohr, says he is not under pressure to field players for Saturday’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier against Bafana Bafana of South Africa.

    Rohr made the assertion on Thursday in Uyo while fielding questions from sports journalists during a pre-match briefing on the Super Eagles’ preparedness for the tournament.

    “Nobody is telling me how to work, I work independently with my assistants. There is no pressure on me to field any player.

    “We have good players from Nigeria in this team, I have some fine players. We have good players who can play well for this country,’’ Rohr said.

    He said that as a professional, he monitored the progress of players in their respective clubs and watched video clips of their performances.

    Rohr said that nobody gave him directives on how to coach and he was satisfied with the selection made so far with the assistance of his technical team.

    “No pressure on me, the team is open to all good players from Nigeria,’’ the coach said.

    Rohr said that his squad for Saturday’s match was a blend of young talented players with the experienced ones.

    He added that the team was in top form feeling very good just as the people of Uyo appreciated the Super Eagles playing in the town.

    Also, the Super Eagles’ Captain, Ogenyi Onazi, said the team’s objective in Uyo was to win the game and qualify for AFCON and the even the World Cup.

    “We want to do our own and make sure we win the match on Saturday,’’ Onazi said.

    “Definitely, we need the prayers of all Nigerians. We just want to let them know that it is not going to be easy.

    “We need your support, you should come out and support us to make sure we get the three points on Saturday.’’

    Contributing, an Akwa United FC player, Alhassan Ibrahim, who is one of home-based players in the team, said that he was excited about being in the national team.

    Ibrahim said that it was an honour for him to be selected to feature for Nigeria at the national level out of the three players invited by the coach.

    He lauded the cooperation he enjoyed from the experienced players since he joined the Eagles camp in Corsica and Paris.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Bafana Bafana of South Africa had arrived in Uyo on Thursday afternoon for the match.

  • Nigeria Drops Moses, Mikel for Nations Cup Qualifiers, Invites Youssef

    Nigeria Drops Moses, Mikel for Nations Cup Qualifiers, Invites Youssef

    Nigeria have left out Chelsea star Victor Moses from their 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against South Africa next month.

    Captain John Obi Mikel is also among the high-profile names missing in the squad list released by Super Eagles Coach, Genort Rohr for the match against South Africa.

    Moses is being omitted despite having a splendid season with Chelsea while Mikel is understood to still be recuperating from an injury setback that has forced him undergo surgery,

    Also conspicuously missing from the list of 23 players are the China-based duo of Odion Ighalo and Brown Ideye.

    MFM FC strike partners, Stephen Odey and Sikiru Olatunbosun, have also been overlooked as Rohr takes a gamble with a lot of fresh inclusion in his list.

    The Super Eagles host the Bafana Bafana at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo in their first AFCON 2019 qualifying match.

    The last time both sides met was also at the same venue, in a 2015 AFCON qualifier, which ended 2-2 and subsequently knocked Nigeria out of qualifying for the 2015 AFCON just two years after winning it.

    There is also another surprise regarding the list, as little-known Maroof Youssef, who plays for Zamalek in Egypt was included.

    The full list

    Goalkeepers: Daniel Akpeyi, Ikechukwu Ezenwa and Dele Alampasu

    Defenders: Elderson Echiejile, Kenneth Omeruo, Tyrone Ebuehi, Chidozie Awaziem, Shehu Abdullahi, William Ekong and Maroof Youssef

    Midfielders: Ogenyi Onazi, John Ogu, Oghenekaro Etebo, Alhassan Ibrahim, Mikel Agu and Wilfred Ndidi

    Attackers: Ahmed Musa, Kelechi Iheanacho, Alex Iwobi, Moses Simon, Henry Onyekuru, Olanrewaju Kayode and Victor Osimhen.

  • Alhassan Ibrahim agrees Akwa United move

    Alhassan Ibrahim agrees Akwa United move

    Wikki Tourists striker ‘Muazam’ Alhassan Ibrahim, who is on the radar of champions Rangers, has said he will be in Uyo shortly to finalise a move to Akwa United.

    “I hope to sign for Akwa United to follow my mentor coach Abdu Maikaba, who is a father to me,” the former Golden Eaglets sensation said.

    ‘Muazam’ helped Wikki qualify for next year’s CAF Confederation Cup after they finished third this past season.

    The tall  forward, once hailed as ‘The New Kanu’, joined the Bauchi club in mid-season.

  • Ibrahim denied contract by HNK Rijeka

    Flying Eagles striker Alhassan Ibrahim has been denied a professional contract by Croatia side HNK Rijeka after picking up an injury during the team winter camp in Spain.

    Popularly called Mu’azam he was reportedly set to be offered a contract by the team after the camping in Spain as replacement for Andreij Kramaric now at Leicester City in England.

    However SL10.ng can report he picked up a thigh complaint which lead the team to pull out of a proposed two years deal with the option of another year for him.

    Rijeka needed a striker who will hit the ground running and Alhassan injury means he won’t be able to feature in games when the League resumes as they bid to wrestle the title from Dinamo Zagreb.

    Alhassan Ibrahim according to leaks we gathered is not set to be out for long hence he is still in contention to make the Nigeria Under-20 team to Senegal.

    The lanky striker is presently in Kaduna with the Flying Eagles who are preparing for the upcoming Africa Youth Championship in Senegal but sat out Monday morning session due to same injury.

    If passed fit for the Championship, a strong showing at the Championship might trigger more interest in his services following his failure to move to Europe after two attempts.

    He spent close to three months on trial with Rijeka after a move to Swedish side Kalmar broke down due to his agent excessive financial demands.