Nigeria’s striker, Victor Osimhen has arrived at the Super Eagles camp in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria after concluding his loan move to Turkish Super Lig side, Galatasaray.
TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Osimhen concluded his loan move from Napoli to Galatasaray on Wednesday and landed in Uyo on Thursday.
Recall the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) had shortlisted 23 players that included Osimhen for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying matches against Benin Republic and Rwanda.
With the arrival of Osimhen, the Super Eagles camp is now complete. Captain William Ekong led from the front, arriving on Monday with the earliest birds, which included defenders Ola Aina, Semi Ajayi and Olisa Ndah.
Midfielder Fisayo Dele-Bashiru as well as forwards Ademola Lookman and Taiwo Awoniyi were also part of those who arrived in camp early.
Goalkeeper Amas Obasogie and midfielder Wilfred Ndidi also landed earlier in Uyo, while forward Victor Boniface and goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali have also joined.
On Tuesday morning, defender Calvin Bassey and midfielders Alex Iwobi and Frank Onyeka pitched in. This was before defender Benjamin Tanimu (drafted in place of Bright Osayi-Samuel), midfielder Alhassan Yusuf Abdullahi and forwards Moses Simon and Samuel Chukwueze arrived.
In the evening, just before the team bus pulled out of the hotel for training, defender Bruno Onyemaechi (of Portuguese club Boavista) and midfielder Raphael Onyedika (of Belgian side Club Brugge) arrived in camp.
Forward Kelechi Iheanacho, goalkeeper Maduka Okoye and forward Osimhen are the last to arrive in camp.
AFCON 2025: Super Eagles have what it takes to qualify – Eguavoen
Meanwhile, Super Eagles Interim Manager, Austin Eguavoen, has said the Super Eagles have all it takes to qualify for the 2025 AFCON scheduled to hold in Morocco.
Eguavoen who spoke with NFF TV ahead of Saturday’s 2025 AFCON qualifying match against the Cheetahs of Benin Republic in Uyo, said he was optimistic that the Super Eagles would scale through.
“Nigeria is a nation, in terms of football, a lot of countries respect and the 2025 AFCON Qualifier is no different. I am very confident that we will scale through these two games and beyond.
“We have the materials, players, personnel and support. We have everything,” he said.
He said that there was a need to remind the players of their achievement at the last AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire, where they finished as runners-up in the tournament.
He also called on Nigerians to rally round the team to ensure it began its campaign on a bright note.
“The only thing we have to remind these players about is that they were almost African champions a few months ago; it’s not even up to a year yet.
“So, what went wrong? It is still the same players. We will do everything we have to do as the technical crew and of course, the federation.
“Nigerians will also rally round them, but they (the players) are the ones whose duty it is to turn the table around.
“I have spoken to them and we will still be having some series of meetings before the game proper and I am very confident that they will go out there and make the nation proud,” he said.
Eguavoen, however, cautioned that it was very important for the Super Eagles to respect every opponent in the qualifier as they were no minnows in football any more.
“We will treat our opponents with utmost respect, no doubt about that, because in football, if you disrespect or look down on any team, then you will have problems.
“So, we will play them with great respect, but this is our home and we have no choice but to ensure we begin our AFCON qualifying campaign with a victory on Saturday,” Eguavoen said.
TNG reports the Super Eagles go up against the Cheetahs of Benin Republic at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo on September 7. The team will then fly to Kigali to take on the Amavubi at the Amahoro Stadium on September 10.