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President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Ibrahim Gusau has allayed fears surrounding Wilfred Ndidi’s departure from the Super Eagles’ camp ahead of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Ndidi, a key player in Peseiro’s squad was replaced by Royal Antwerp player, Alhassan Yusuf after sustaining an injury ahead of the Super Eagles AFCON 2023 campaign.
Gusau said in an interview on the NFF’s website on Saturday, that there was no cause for alarm.
He said that the team had the ability to perform well even without the Leicester City midfielder.
“I don’t have any tension because I know we played a lot of matches without Ndidi and won a lot of matches without him.
“We also played a lot of matches with Ndidi and lost unexpectedly, so it’s not about Ndidi, it’s about the national team of Nigeria” he said.
Ndidi’s replacement, Yusuf, currently making an impact for Antwerp, notably scored a vital goal in their UEFA Champions League match against Portuguese opposition.
He also provided an assist in his team’s victory against FC Barcelona.
Gusau expressed confidence in Yusuf’s contributions to the AFCON campaign, citing his impressive performance against FC Barcelona as a positive indicator.
“The young boy that was brought in now, Yusuf is also doing wonderfully well with his team.
“When they played against Barcelona, you can see the performance he put on in the win against Barcelona in the Champions League,” the NFF president said.
Drawing parallels to Sunday Mba’s pivotal performance in AFCON 2013, Gusau hoped that the young Nigerian talent, Yusuf would replicate a similar impact.
“He’s also a young boy, maybe it’s an opportunity for him to do a miracle.
“Don’t forget everybody did not have confidence in Mba when we went to the AFCON in 2013 and at the end of the day Mba was part of the players that performed a miracle” he said.
“Nobody knows what Yusuf is going to be in the team so it’s not about Ndidi, it’s about the Super Eagles.”
Super Eagles are scheduled to face Guinea in an upcoming preparatory match before heading to Cote d’Ivoire for their AFCON campaign.
The 2023 AFCON which kicks off on Jan. 13 will end on Feb. 11.