Nigerian senior national team manager Gernot Rohr has revealed that he is planning to use at least one of the U-20 players, currently preparing for the junior World Cup, in his 2019 Africa Cup of Nations squad.
The most likely candidate is Villarreal attacker Samuel Chukwueze, while the Enyimba pair of Valentine Ozornwafor and Ikouwem Udo are also on the radar of the German tactician after training with the senior Super Eagles in March.
“We are following the U-20s that are currently in Germany to prepare for the World Cup. I do not forbid taking one or two players from this group for my list,” Rohr told Goal.
“We also communicate with the U-23s who are preparing for the qualification of the Olympic Games as well as the regular contacts with our injured players. The state of mind is still 100 percent focused on the AFCON.”
According to All Nigeria Soccer, Rohr is backing Chukwueze to be one of the revelations of the Nations Cup, though his Spanish club are concerned at the prospect of him playing in two major international tournaments in quick succession.
The German added, “He can become a very good player indeed but we have a problem with Villarreal, who does not want him to play the two competitions – the AFCON with us and the U20 World Cup.
“We must see how we can solve this because he has not had much rest for two years. We must preserve his health.”
African Football
