7th April, 2011
Nigeria’s U-23 team, known as Dream Team V are expected to depart the shores of the country tomorrow for Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, for the return leg of the London 2012 qualifying match against the their counterparts this weekend.
The coach Austine Eguavoen tutored-side won the first leg convincingly scoring five unreplied goals in the match played a fortnight ago at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin, Edo State .The team would be going for the kill against the Guineans, who were outplayed in the first leg.
The team would be without skipper, Monaco of France Haruna Lukman and new invitee, Aberdeen FC of Scotland’s Omatsone Aluko due to club engagements.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, has frowned at Eguavoen’s plan to rely so much on foreign-based players in his campaign to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games.
Apparently considering the financial implication of importing foreign-based players and the need to develop local players, the NFF said it expects the two months of camping that has gulped a huge amount of money to yield results.
—Adebobola Alawode