Nigeria’s Franco-German Coach Gernot Rohr have a big decision to make on whether to allow Villarreal’s Samuel Chukwueze represent Nigeria at the 2019 FIFA U -20 World Cup in Poland next month or include him in his team for the AFCON finals in Egypt.
Rohr revealed the Spanish Club are not willing to allow the teenager take part in the tournament, fearing he might not to ready for the new European season in August.
“He is a great talent and I would like him in my team, although I don’t know if he will be an immediate starter. The challenge, of course, is that he is also wanted for Nigeria’s @fifau20 team going to Poland.”
“ I have had a chat with the coach of Villarreal and they don’t want him to exhaust himself at the U-20 WC and the AFCON, so they want him to choose one tournament. We shall see how best we can manage this situation. But no doubt, he’s a talent for my team.”
Rohr added that he’s confidence his team will have a good tournament in Egypt.
“We start our preparations on June 2nd and I think that if all things go well, we will have a good tournament. We must, however, respect every opponent. There is no small team now”
“I have a young @NGSuperEagles team, full of potential, but we are not the favourite for the AFCON”
“We don’t have big players, like Senegal and Egypt, so the @NGSuperEagles must work collectively as a team. This is where our strength lies.”
Nigeria will be aiming to win her fourth African Cup of Nations title in Egypt, haven won the title back in 1980, 1994 and 2013.
The Super Eagles has been drawn in Group B of the tournament alongside Burundi, Madagascar and Guinea.
