Nigeria coach Shuaibu Amodu has called up three domestic league players for the Super Eagles pre-African Nations Cup training camp in Durban, South Africa.
In addition to Bayelsa United's Chibuzor Okonkwo, Amodu has also listed Heartland midfielder Ikechukwu Ibenegbu and Okonkwo's Bayelsa United team mate, goalkeeper Bassey Akpan.

Amodu was initially resistant to calls to invite more players from the Nigerian Premier League, but has finally bowed to pressure and included two more.

The squad now includes five goalkeepers, 11 defenders, nine midfielders and seven forwards.

“I believe there will be fierce fight for shirts because I have made it clear to the players that performances at the Nations Cup will go a long way in determining those who will be called up for the World Cup finals in South Africa next year,” said Amodu.

The players will report at the Fairmont Zimbali Lodge near Durban, South Africa on December 29.

On December 27, the foreign –based players will arrive Nigeria for an Appreciation Dinner being organized for them by the Nigeria Football Federation.

This will take place at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel on the evening of December 28.

THE FULL SQUAD:

Goalkeepers: Vincent Enyeama, Bamidele Aiyenugba, Austin Ejide, Greg Etafia, Bassey Akpan   5

Defenders: Taye Taiwo, Joseph Yobo, Elderson Echiejile, Ayodele Adeleye, Danny Shittu, Obinna Nwaneri, Onyekachi Apam, Chidi Odiah, Chibuzor Okonkwo, Yusuf Mohammed, Olubayo Adefemi 11

Midfielders: Dickson Etuhu, Sani Kaita, Bartholomew Ibenegbu, Oluwaseyi Olofinjana, Mikel Obi, Nwankwo Kanu, Yusuf Ayila, Kalu Uche, Olufemi Ajilore  9

Strikers: Osaze Odemwingie, Obafemi Martins, Chinedu Obasi, Michael Eneramo, Joseph Akpala, Yakubu Aiyegbeni, Obinna Nsofor 7

http://www.kickoff.com/static/news/article.php?id=12851

http://goal.com/en/news/815/african-nations-cup/2009/12/15/1688698/african-nations-cup-fulhams-dickson-etuhu-called-up-into-nigeria-

Good luck to them

What do we need 5 goal keepers for? Let us be realistic for once

otokx:

What do we need 5 goal keepers for? Let us be realistic for once

Because we need 2 keeper at a timein a goal and 1 as a time keeper when he [Amode] don sleep go on beach, wonder shall never end in 9ija, a dulling man ruling a dulling nation why a dulling coach coaching a dulling windless super eagles

So hes very sure of leading us to World cup-from the way he spoke.
I will prefer more hungry/determined players-hunger to excel.
I wish all of us good luck though.

its easy 2 predict d finally list. God pls we dnt need olofinjana n etuhu in d squad. all d best 9ja

otokx:

What do we need 5 goal keepers for? Let us be realistic for once

Maybe there's someone that can answer this question reasonably.

I'll really want to know why too

I think this list should be the best we have at the moment. Unfortunately Ike Uche is not there. I hope he makes it to the world cup. I expect at least a semi final placing for this squad.
Best of luck to us.

It is camping list and not final list. Only 23 will be going to Angola.

This is obviously nt the final list and only abt 23playas wud make d final list to d nations cup.
Its okay to have 5goal keepers now, then amodu can pick the best three.

There has to be some sort of competition in every team, we cnt continue letting d lyks of enyeama think there ar no options cos dat way, they wnt see d need to improve.

Luking at d midfield, i c serious cause for alarm cos theres no play maker in d team.

Yes, mikel is on d list, bt its obvious d guy peaked during d U20 in netherland and has since lost d touch.

Odewinge on d other hand is a very passionate player and prolly d best on dat team, d problem i hv wiv him is dat he isnt a team player, odewinge runs al over d field doing everybodys job hence leavin his wing vulnerable.

I dnt hv much faith in dis team tho, especially wen the coach stil cnt see dat olofinjanna is useless

stil waiting to see ow they wd fare in d nations cup.

jejelolatu:

This is obviously nt the final list and only abt 23playas wud make d final list to d nations cup.
Its okay to have 5goal keepers now, then amodu can pick the best three.

There has to be some sort of competition in every team, we cnt continue letting d lyks of enyeama think there ar no options cos dat way, they wnt see d need to improve.

Luking at d midfield, i c serious cause for alarm cos theres no play maker in d team.

Yes, mikel is on d list, bt its obvious d guy peaked during d U20 in netherland and has since lost d touch.

Odewinge on d other hand is a very passionate player and prolly d best on dat team, d problem i hv wiv him is dat he isnt a team player, odewinge runs al over d field doing everybodys job hence leavin his wing vulnerable.

I dnt hv much faith in dis team tho, especially wen the coach stil cnt see dat olofinjanna is useless

stil waiting to see ow they wd fare in d nations cup.

good analysis, thumps up
so who do you think we should include as a playmaker?

The same old legs. Why dont we inject new legs to our team. Why are calling 36 since we know our final 22 members? This is waste of time. That Amodu should be sacked.

Niaja lets go there, I wish us success

bet me,if these are all we've got,no way for nigeria

we know we can comfortably predict the final list from this list. We know the domestic players invited are just to fulfill all righteousness. We know that Mikel is called to help Kalu Uche in the role of a playmaker when Papilo is not strong to play. We know Martins is invited to train for the world cup because he will offer nottin in  Angola. We also know that Ike Uche must go to World cup I thought I heard something liuke Carlton Cole accepting to come back home? What happened to Paul Obiefula? Danny Shittu is not a trusted defender (personal opinion though), In all, we just have 2 win d Nations cup 2 put pressure on our world cup opponents. Nottin less than gold

@ Topic
Rabiu Ibrahim, Rabiu Afolabi, Sam Sodje, and Onyekachi Okoronkwo should be on that list on merit.

@ too_soon
With a little work on his passing accuracy; Odemwingie could be a very good playmaker.

i dont see quality in that midfield. amodu should find better midfielders that can play tough teams like argentina and co

Baro:

@ Topic
Rabiu Ibrahim, Rabiu Afolabi, Sam Sodje, and Onyekachi Okoronkwo should be on that list on merit.

@ too_soon
With a little work on his passing accuracy; Odemwingie could be a very good playmaker.

Rabiu Ibrahim needs to be groomed for World cup.

Yes Odemwingie can be our temporary playmaker, then Mikel should play as a defensive midfielder.

^^which of d sodjes if i may ask? The scarf wearing one?
Dats a NoNO, He aint a good CB anymore.

I also think dat mikel shd be used as a 4, he seems to work berra as a holding midfielder and not an attacking midfielder plus he's definitely betta dan olofinjanna


Odemwinge is usually used as a winger(striker) and i think he wud be of betta use in d midfield, not a playmaker if u ask me, cos he isnt a "pass d ball" kinda player, dude usually runs with d ball. If he cn learn to make good crosses frm d wings to feed d strikers then maybe we wud be gud to go.

Anywaz, all these is jst talk, when it comes to d super eagles al things ar possible -they can beat any team or lose to any team. Alwaz unpredictable.

Mikel & YakuYobo should not be included in the list, they overrated fools

African Cup of Nations is a side show to the main event. The World Cup. The mid-field isnt too bad. Dickson Etuhu is doing well at Fulham FC. Bring on 2010

jejelolatu:

This is obviously nt the final list and only abt 23playas wud make d final list to d nations cup.
Its okay to have 5goal keepers now, then amodu can pick the best three.

There has to be some sort of competition in every team, we cnt continue letting d lyks of enyeama think there ar no options cos dat way, they wnt see d need to improve.

Luking at d midfield, i c serious cause for alarm cos theres no play maker in d team.

Yes, mikel is on d list, bt its obvious d guy peaked during d U20 in netherland and has since lost d touch.

Odewinge on d other hand is a very passionate player and prolly d best on dat team, d problem i hv wiv him is dat he isnt a team player, odewinge runs al over d field doing everybodys job hence leavin his wing vulnerable.

I dnt hv much faith in dis team tho, especially wen the coach stil cnt see dat olofinjanna is useless

stil waiting to see ow they wd fare in d nations cup.

My God!

Do jejelolatu need to tell these people this before they get it?

And these are the same people that would want to be football analyst and think they should be taken seriously.

They don't even know the difference between a camping list and a tournament list.

yemmight:

The same old legs. Why dont we inject new legs to our team. Why are calling 36 since we know our final 22 members? This is waste of time. That Amodu should be sacked.

Soothsayer, what is the list?

Bassey Akpan, Elderson Echiejile, Ayodele Adeleye, Onyekachi Apam, Chibuzor Okonkwo, Yusuf Mohammed, Olubayo Adefemi, Dickson Etuhu, Sani Kaita, Bartholomew Ibenegbu, Mikel Obi, Kalu Uche, Olufemi Ajilore, Chinedu Obasi, Michael Eneramo, Joseph Akpala and Obinna Nsofor are "the same old legs"?

i wish best of GOD in every of their training activities,

Is this the best that Nigeria can offer? 5 goal keepers are completely unecessary when there are young players that could be invited to give them the exposure that thye need especially in midfield positions. Well i was not expecting anything spectacular from the Super Eagles in Angola and the world cup. All the best to them.

Odewinge on d other hand is a very passionate player and prolly d best on dat team, d problem i hv wiv him is dat he isnt a team player, odewinge runs al over d field doing everybodys job hence leavin his wing vulnerable.

I disagree.
Osaze is a brilliant player and his thought pattern is mostly ahead of his colleagues on the field of play. If they understood every of his moves
per time no defence will be able to withstand Eagles but sadly its not the case

jejelolatu:

^^which of d sodjes if i may ask? The scarf wearing one?
Dats a NoNO, He aint a good CB anymore.

The Sodjes are three; Efetobore, Sam and Akpo. Efetobore is the one that ties bandana, Sam is good, i think he paired with Dele Adeleye in our friendly victory against France.

What happened to the talents that won the Silver Medal at the recently concluded Beijing Olympics? I feel also that there should be one or two players called from the recent U 17 World Cup. Why doesn't Nigeria ever develop on talents? If this squad he called is essentially the same squad that struggled to beat teams like Mozambique and Tunisia during World Cup qualifying, how does he now expect them to compete against more quality teams at the World Cup level?


Also this shows Amodu is a fool. Yes, a big fool. While other coaches already have in mind a short list of players who will go the World Cup, Amodu is effectively saying that the performance at the Nations Cup will be his way of choosing players for the World Cup. He should make up his mind now and choose his World Cup team, whomever that may be, and use the Nations Cup to blend them together, which would be beneficial because that team will be used to playing together when it's time for the World Cup. Or does he think he can start choosing new players after the Nations Cup?

You guys remember USA '94. Westerhof already had his World Cup squad before the Nations Cup, and he took the same team that represented Nigeria in the Nations Cup to the World Cup, which is a good strategy.

Where is Ikechukwu Uche in this list . . . or is he injured or something or am I missing something, cus i do not really understand why he is missing in this list.

No2Atheism:

Where is Ikechukwu Uche in this list . . . or is he injured or something or am I missing something, cus i do not really understand why he is missing in this list.

Okay now I know that he is injured . . . so please ignore my question . . . and post.

Princek12:

What happened to the talents that won the Silver Medal at the recently concluded Beijing Olympics? I feel also that there should be one or two players called from the recent U 17 World Cup. Why doesn't Nigeria ever develop on talents? If this squad he called is essentially the same squad that struggled to beat teams like Mozambique and Tunisia during World Cup qualifying, how does he now expect them to compete against more quality teams at the World Cup level?


Also this shows Amodu is a fool. Yes, a big fool. While other coaches already have in mind a short list of players who will go the World Cup, Amodu is effectively saying that the performance at the Nations Cup will be his way of choosing players for the World Cup. He should make up his mind now and choose his World Cup team, whomever that may be, and use the Nations Cup to blend them together, which would be beneficial because that team will be used to playing together when it's time for the World Cup. Or does he think he can start choosing new players after the Nations Cup?

You guys remember USA '94. Westerhof already had his World Cup squad before the Nations Cup, and he took the same team that represented Nigeria in the Nations Cup to the World Cup, which is a good strategy.

you seriously expect kids from an U-17 tournament to play in the worldcup?

Princek12:

What happened to the talents that won the Silver Medal at the recently concluded Beijing Olympics? I feel also that there should be one or two players called from the recent U 17 World Cup. Why doesn't Nigeria ever develop on talents? If this squad he called is essentially the same squad that struggled to beat teams like Mozambique and Tunisia during World Cup qualifying, how does he now expect them to compete against more quality teams at the World Cup level?


Also this shows Amodu is a fool. Yes, a big fool. While other coaches already have in mind a short list of players who will go the World Cup, Amodu is effectively saying that the performance at the Nations Cup will be his way of choosing players for the World Cup. He should make up his mind now and choose his World Cup team, whomever that may be, and use the Nations Cup to blend them together, which would be beneficial because that team will be used to playing together when it's time for the World Cup. Or does he think he can start choosing new players after the Nations Cup?

You guys remember USA '94. Westerhof already had his World Cup squad before the Nations Cup, and he took the same team that represented Nigeria in the Nations Cup to the World Cup, which is a good strategy.

guy what are u saying? i can name 10 players off the top of my head who were in beijing so what are u talking about? i'm not an amodu fan but why are u insulting him? ok mr know it all name players that are not in the camping list who should be there and tell me what such players have done lately to warrant call ups. u-17? u want us to start experimenting @ this stage?

@topic for me the list is 95% ok (since most of them are the best we have for now) but like some one earlier mentioned earlier the lack of creative midfielders is worrying. i felt we should have taken a risk on rabiu ibrahim at least for AFCON 2010. anyways best of luck to them