Football
Exclusive: Osimhen Can Help Super Eagles Wrap Up AFCON Qualification — Henry Makinwa
Victor Osimhen’s return to the Super Eagles is expected to strengthen Nigeria’s AFCON qualification bid. Henry Makinwa emphasizes the need for focus and discipline as Nigeria prepares for Benin and Rwanda
Christian Kaspar-Bartke/Getty Images
Former Nigeria international Henry Makinwa has thumbed up Victor Osimhen's return to the Nigeria national team fold following his inclusion for the latest round of international games.
Recall that Osimhen had missed out of the Super Eagles October roster no thanks to an injury which kept him out for a couple of games for Galatasaray and subsequently the clash with Libya.
However, his return to action has coincided with the latest games and Augustine Eguavoen yesterday handed him a return to national team duties when they face Benin and Rwanda to close out their AFCON qualification phase.
Nigeria Should Claim Group D Top Spot
Nigeria can seal top spot of their group in their bid to qualify for next year's AFCON if they can avoid defeat to Benin next week. Makinwa believes that should be the barest minimum the team should be targeting — to get over the line, and even maintain their standing on the log.
"That should be the least thing we can expect from the team now", Makinwa told SportsBoom.com.
"They are now in a situation where they need to get this in the bag and focus on other things. Why not? The CAF ruling which granted us maximum points the last time already put us in a good standing to go on and finish as the top team."
"Can we beat Benin? Of course, the Super Eagles can beat anyone on their day and Benin is not different."
"Yes, they also want to qualify and they need to keep up to pace with their closest challengers Rwanda to stand a chance."
So they can be dangerous when they decide to come at you, but I believe Nigeria should have enough to beat them and get the qualification ticket for next year.
Henry Makinwa
Need for Concentration When on National team Duties
Makinwa has as well called for maximum concentration from the team when they come for international assignments, stressing the need for the boys to do away with playing around during training sessions.
"Look, there should be such a thing like discipline", he enthused. "Do you think Chelsea players go to training with their phones in their hands, MP3 speakers and all that?"
"Just an hour and some thirty minutes training session and everybody goes on the phone and headsets like Nitel international call attendant, haba."
"Just a little respect for taxpayers' money and for the country, that is all we ask for. What they don't do in their clubs, why do it here?"
Osimhen's Presence is a Big Boost for the Team
"The important thing for the team is that Osimhen is back. He makes the team tick, you know.."
"He is a star player, so his return is surely a big boost for the team. When he's playing, he elevates them to a whole new level."
"In the last rounds, he was sorely missed, and even though the team didn't face much challenges, they still struggled to get the goals in. Hopefully we can get to see a goal or two from him in these games.
Since he broke loose from the shackles of long hours huddled up in a hot classroom learning Mandarin Chinese and Pinyin at the famous Confucius Institute, UNIZIK, Emmanuel Chinaza has embraced sports and football in particular, and it helped that he grew up in the football-crazy city of Anambra.