3 talking points from Super Eagles squad for AFCON 2021 qualifiers against Republic of Benin and Lesotho
A few thoughts on the Super Eagles 23-man squad.
A 23-man Super Eagles squad has been announced ahead of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier against the Republic of Benin and Lesotho in November.
We discuss some talking points from the squad.
1. Musa returns to prove his relevance
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Ahmed Musa is back with the Super Eagles for the first since AFCON 2019. Musa was not part of the Super Eagles for the friendly games against Ukraine and Brazil in September and October respectively.
For the games against the Republic of Benin and Lesotho, Super Eagles boss Gernot Rohr has recalled Musa who now has another point to prove.
Musa has never been the player that got a call-up because of his exploits with club football but he has remained a fan favourite as a consistent performer for the Super Eagles. That is why is underwhelming performance at AFCON 2019 was a surprise.
He is back now with another opportunity to prove that he can still be an important player in the Super Eagles setup.
2. No place for Leon Balogun
After years in the Super Eagles as a guaranteed starter, Leon Balogun has finally lost his place in the team due to his inability to get game time at Brighton & Hove.
This season, Balogun has not made a single appearance for Brighton & Hove and although he was invited for the friendly games against Ukraine and Brazil, Rohr has finally and rightly dropped the defender.
This has also been coming for Balogun who has reportedly become disgruntled after he lost his place in the starting XI.
3. Akpeyi is back after AFCON 2019 horror
The scapegoat for Super Eagles’ failure to at least get to the final of AFCON 2019 was Daniel Akpeyi who was heavily criticised especially for Algeria’s last-minute winner in the second half. Akpeyi was then snubbed for the games against Ukraine and with Francis Uzoho’s form in those friendlies and the emergence of Maduka Okoye, it looked like there would be no place for the South African-based goalkeeper anymore.
But two situations have made his return possible. First was the long-term injury to Uzoho and Akpeyi’s resurgence at Kaizer Chiefs. In four games so far this season, the Nigerian goalkeeper has conceded just one goal and pulled up several fantastic saves. He was named the Man of the Match after coming on as a substitute against Baroka in September and saved two penalties to help Chiefs win a shoot-out in a Telkom Knockout quarter-final clash against Cape Town City.
With Akpeyi, Rohr has returned to a goalkeeper he knows very well after being left with Okoye who everyone is still unsure off and Ikechukwue Ezenwa who has not played competitive football for more than five months.
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