Nigeria head coach Gernot Rohr has invited Enyimba’s winger Anayo Iwuala ahead of next week’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers (AFCON2021Q) against Benin Republic and Lesotho, reports www.aclsports.com
Iwuala, 21, has been one of Enyimba’s top performers this term in both league and continental competitions, weighing in with a number of goals and assists in his playmaking duties for the club.
The winger has now been called up by Mr Rohr in place of Almeria forward Sadiq Umar who has become the latest withdrawal to the Nigerian squad ahead of the upcoming qualifiers due to the bureaucratic bottlenecks involving the Covid-19 pandemic.
France based stars Samuel Kalu and Moses Simon had earlier pulled out of the upcoming games with replacements named for them already. Umar’s withdrawal means he will have to wait a little longer for his national team debut.
Originally excluded attacking duo Henry Onyekuru and Paul Onuachu had been called up by the Eagles coach to replace the French based wingers but more players are expected to pull out for the same reason in the next couple of days.
Nigeria need just one more point from their last two matches to seal their spot at next January’s Africa Cup of Nations to be hosted by neighbours Cameroon.
The Super Eagles travel to Porto Novo to face Benin Republic next Saturday, March 27 and will return home to face Lesotho three days later in their first match at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos in ten years.
