Eguavoen comments on whether Osimhen will get playing time; headaches over the decision between Nwabali and Okoye

Super Eagles interim boss Austin Eguavoen has commented on Victor Osimhen’s fitness and who will start in goal between Stanley Nwabali and Maduka Okoye ahead of tomorrow’s 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Benin.

Osimhen was the last player to report to the training camp as he had to sort out his future after failing to secure a transfer to Chelsea or Al Ahli, the two teams that showed strong interest in him ahead of the start of the transfer window in Europe's five biggest leagues.

After being excluded from Napoli's first team, the 25-year-old received a loan offer from Galatasaray and was only able to complete his move to the Turkish team on Thursday, after which he travelled to train.

He did not take part in Napoli's pre-season training and has not played in a competitive match since his brief appearance against Lecce on the final matchday of Serie A last season.

When asked if he will face the Cheetahs, Eguavoen did not reveal too much about the extent to which the 25-year-old will be involved in the game.

“To answer that, you know we have a pool of 23 players, so that's something I'll have to sleep on and then I'll decide who starts tomorrow,” Eguavoen said at the pre-match press conference.

The interim coach was also asked whether it was important to him who would be in goal in tomorrow's match between Okoye and Nwabali.

“The problem lies in the entire team. 23 quality players, some quality players who are currently not in the team.”

“It's a headache for the coach, but the good thing is that they're all fit and we can always play with eleven players, the required number of players. And the good thing is that the players know that too.”

Nwabali has been the preferred first choice since the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, but it remains to be seen whether Eguavoen will keep him in goal instead of Okoye, who is in great form at Udinese.

Abdulkareem Abdulhamid

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