Al Ahli of Egypt striker, Junior Ajayi, Akwa United star, Gabriel Okechukwu and Turkey-based Mikel Agu have joined the Super Eagles’ camp in London ahead of tomorrow’s international friendly against Serbia at the Barnet Stadium.
Ajayi, Okechukwu and Agu did not take part in the game against Poland on Friday, which the Eagles won 1-0. While Ajayi and Okechukwu could not secure Polish visa before Friday’s game, Agu was invited to the team as replacement for the absent team captain, John Obi Mikel.
The Super Eagles flew into London on Saturday and trained at The Hive yesterday.
All the players in camp joined in yesterday’s training session, except the injured midfield workhorse, Oghenekaro Etebo, who watched from the sidelines.
According to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), the squad of 26 players and technical and backroom staff are staying at the Hotel Crowne Plaza Ealing.
The NFF revealed that the team would hold a pre-match press conference at The Amber Suite of The Hive this evening.
At the World Cup finals in Russia, Serbia will play five–time champions Brazil, Switzerland and Costa Rica in Group E, while the Eagles battle Croatia, Iceland and Argentina.
Serbia is ranked 34 in the world by FIFA (18 places above Nigeria), but the Eagles have become accustomed to tearing apart paper ratings and bookmakers’ odds, as they did in dismantling Cameroun, Algeria and Zambia in the African qualifying series.
Meanwhile, Super Eagles’ Coach, Gernot Rohr has described his team as ‘a work in progress’ and warned it ‘won’t get carried away with friendly success’ following its 1-0 victory over Poland.
“We’ve seen a lot of good things and some things we must work on before the World Cup in Russia,” Rohr told BBC.
“Friendly matches provide a great opportunity to see everything about your team.
“It is not really the same as a World Cup game. Our preparation is still a work in progress to be ready.’’
