Ebenezer Bajela
14 May 2021
Kindly share this story:
President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Pinnick, says the Super Eagles will play a Grade A friendly in June, despite the postponement of the World Cup qualifiers.
The Eagles were initially scheduled to start their 2022 Qatar World Cup qualifying campaign in June, but had it shifted to September by the Confederation of African Football, following challenges posed by COVID-19.
The decision leaves the next international window free for the team, but Pinnick, in a chat with the media, confirmed the federation was working on getting a top grade friendly for Gernot Rohr’s men to fill up for the postponed matches.
He said, “We want to keep the Super Eagles busy next month, knowing that the bulk of the leagues in Europe would have come to an end. After they rest a while, they should engage in top grade friendlies in order to keep the boys in better shape ahead of the World Cup qualifiers, which is crucial for us as a nation.
“It has always been our philosophy to get Grade A friendlies for the Super Eagles. If you look at our track records, we go for friendly matches that can put the team in shape and for cohesion; and the forthcoming one is not an exception.”
The Eagles qualified for the African Cup of Nations which will be taking in place in Cameroon with a game to spare, an achievement Pinnick attributed to good preparation.
He continued, “There have been good and quality preparations so far and I think we’ve got quality young lads in the team hopefully the next African Cup of Nation might just be the time for the Super Eagle to have a podium performance again.”