Reports have emerged on why Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr snubbed Leicester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho in the two recent games against Libya in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations
qualifiers.
The Point gathered that Iheanacho did not get any minutes on the pitch because former Watford striker Odion Ighalo was in a rich vein of form and not as a result of fitness concerns, a Super Eagles insider revealed.
”You hardly change a winning team, somehow Ighalo had one of his best games for Nigeria against the Libyans, he scored a hat-trick and almost scored a hat-trick in Tunisia, but he got two goals, ” the source said.
”It’s not that Iheanacho is having an injury; he was not played for tactical reasons. Ighalo performed extraordinary.
”He scored ten minutes to go, what if he was replaced by Iheanacho? Sometimes the coach takes decisions and it clicks for him and people will start hailing him.
”The coach knows his players and knows when to make substitutions as and when due. He got the results everyone is looking for.”
Iheanacho started the AFCON qualifiers against South Africa and Seychelles but was substituted in both matches.
Ighalo’s five goals for Nigeria during the international break did not go unnoticed outside Africa, with EA Sports FIFA 19 naming the Changchun Yatai striker in their Team of the Week 5, but as a substitute.
As a result of his exploits against the Mediterranean Knights in Uyo and Sfax, Tunisia, Ighalo saw his statistics boosted and now has an overall rating of 81.
The former Watford striker has a rating of 83 paces, 82 dribbling, 82 physicality, 79 shooting, 62 passing and 42 defending.
In a 3-4-3 formation, Manchester United’s Belgium star Romelu Lukaku was picked to lead the frontline and was supported by West Ham’s Marco Arnautovic while Man City’s Bernardo Silva played on the right wing.
United’s Ivory Coast international Eric Bailly was named in central defense, the only African player selected in the starting
lineup.
