From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
Super Eagles goalkeeper trainer, Alloy Agu, has waved off the anxiety in many quarters that the withdrawal of injured England-based goalkeeper, Carl Ikeme, will spell doom for the team in the Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against the Desert Warriors of Algeria this weekend.
Fielding questions from Daily Sunsports in Abuja, the former Eagles safe hand explained that though the team will miss Ikeme, there are however competent hands among the invited keepers to replace him and do well, insisting the team is not facing any keepers crisis.
“It is not true that we are facing goalkeepers’ crisis because of Ikeme’s injury. The ones we have now can conveniently prosecute the match for us. I don’t want to buy the idea that the absence of Vincent Enyeama and Ikeme will cause crisis in the team. Let us not forget that both of them started somewhere.
“We have good hands in Ikechukwu Ezenwa, Dele Alampasu, Daniel Akpeyi and Daniel Emmanuel. They are all reliable goalkeepers that have been doing well with their clubs within and outside the shores of the country. We are only praying and believing that God should give us that day,” he said.
While arguing that the outing against the Pharaohs of Egypt was not enough to write-off Akpeyi, the former Eagles captain said: “It is not right to say that Akpeyi did not live up to expectation in Egypt during the Nations Cup qualifier. There was little or nothing he could do about the goal he conceeded, because of the crowded goal area.
“What I want to assure Nigerians is that we have good goalkeepers to help us pick the three points against Algeria. We will work very hard to get the desired result we are hoping and praying for. We are aware of the expectations of Nigerians and we will not disappoint them.”
…Iheanacho, Iwobi, Mohammed hit camp
English Premier League stars Kelechi Iheanacho and Alex Iwobi as well as Turkey-based defender Musa Mohammed are the first set of players to hit the Eagles training camp for Saturday’s World Cup qualifier against Algeria.
Arsenal forward Iwobi has proved to be one of the early birds at the Eagles camp and he is often accompanied to Nigeria by his father, Chuka.
The training camp in Abuja officially opened yesterday and the squad are expected to depart for match venue Uyo on Thursday.
It will be the same day Algeria will land in Uyo on board a chartered flight.
Officials disclose that the bulk of the 23-man squad will be in camp by last night for training to begin today.
