With about a fortnight to the kick-off of the 2018 African Nations Championship, CHAN, Super Eagles Assistant coach in-charge of the CHAN team, Salisu Yusuf has admitted his team is not ready for the competition.
The Tournament kicks off January 12 but the Eagles won’t play until three days later and Yusuf has said his team is only 75 percent ready.
In a phone chat with Brila FM, media officer of the team, Toyin Ibitoye disclosed that the Coach expressed concerns about his team’s readiness. “The Coach said recently that his team was only 75 percent ready, yet he’s confident that they’ll be in competition mode before the championship gets under way.”
Meanwhile Yusuf is expected to name his final 23-man squad for CHAN 2018 after the Super Eagles play a friendly against a local side today in Abuja.
January 3 is deadline set by CAF for submission of final squad by all the teams who have qualified for the biennial tournament. Battle for squad places has been fierce with a number of the new call-ups looking good to make the final cut ahead of more experienced rivals.
Already, midfielder Afeez Aremu and defender Chima Akas have quit the team after they bagged professional deals in Europe as the CHAN is only reserved for players who feature in their domestic championships. Injury has ruled out the likes of Olamilekan Adeleye, Nasiru Sani and Destiny Ashadi.
The home-based Super Eagles will in the meantime play a second test game today in Abuja as the coach continues to put together a squad to make Nigeria proud in Morocco.
They won their first warm-up game 1-0 against non-league side Water FC of Abuja last week. The team are due to fly out of the country via Lagos on January 3 and will train in Rabat before they move to Tangier, where they are billed to open their group game against Rwanda on January 15.