PHOTO CREDIT: Punch Newspapers / PUNCH Sports Extra
Who Leads Super Eagles Attack With Osimhen Out?
The Super Eagles head into Tuesday’s friendly against the Desert Foxes of Algeria in Oran with a big question over who will lead the line.

First-choice striker Victor Osimhen and Real Sociedad forward Umar Sadiq are both out injured. Osimhen picked up an injury during Napoli’s 4-1 win over Liverpool in the Champions League, while Sadiq suffered a season-ending injury that same weekend.

Head coach Jose Peseiro, who prefers a two-man attack, now has to choose a new focal point. He invited 10 forwards for the friendly, five of whom can play centrally, including Leicester City’s Kelechi Iheanacho, Lorient’s Terem Moffi, Cremonese’s Cyriel Dessers, and Nottingham Forest’s Taiwo Awoniyi.

The favourite to lead the attack is Terem Moffi. The 23-year-old was the most in-form Nigerian striker at the time with six goals in eight Ligue 1 games for Lorient, and had impressed in training since the team camped in Constantine after scoring twice against Sao Tome in June.

Assistant coach Finidi George challenged him to seize the moment: “Moffi has to do what he has to do to make it into the starting team”.

Other options have had slower starts. Awoniyi, despite being the top-scoring Nigerian in the Premier League at the time with two goals for Nottingham Forest, admitted after the 2-2 draw with Algeria B that scoring is not his only job. Iheanacho had managed just one goal in six league games for Leicester, while Dessers had yet to score for Cremonese after his move from Genk, though he scored for Nigeria against Algeria B to make it 2-1.

Peseiro will be keen to avoid extending Nigeria’s three-game losing streak against Algeria led by Riyad Mahrez, and his choice of striker could be decisive.
SOURCE: Punch Newspapers