coach Jose Peseiro is facing a selection headache ahead of the national team’s upcoming friendly matches against Saudi Arabia and Mozambique on October 13 and 16 respectively.
The Portuguese invited eight forwards to the squad, most of whom are in good form and eager to play. But the question on the lips of the football faithful is, ‘who will Peseiro pick for the starting lineup?’
The eight forwards invited are Kelechi Iheanacho, Samuel Chukwueze, Moses Simon, Ademola Lookman, Victor Osimhen, Taiwo Awoniyi, Terem Moffi and Victor Boniface.
Peseiro has favoured a four-striker formation with two wide men and two centre forwards, which means all eight could get a chance to feature across the two games. In the last game against Sao Tome and Principe in September, Iheanacho and Lookman played on the flanks while Osimhen and Awoniyi played down the middle.
With the friendly matches three days apart, the Portuguese manager will have a chance to shuffle his pack, and with the form nearly everyone is in, he can hardly go wrong with any team he fields.
Iheanacho has been in fine form for Leicester City this season, scoring three goals and providing two assists in 11 appearances, while Simon has been a key player for FC Nantes this season, with two goals and three assists in seven appearances in the French Ligue 1. Lookman has also been among the goals for Atalanta after a slow start, scoring two goals in their last three games.
Despite finding himself in the middle of a club controversy, Osimhen has been impressive for Napoli with five goals scored in seven games and sits second in the Serie A top scorers list. For Nottingham Forest, Awoniyi has been superb with three goals and two assists in seven games. Moffi shares the same stats as Awoniyi for OGC Nice, both scoring the same number of goals and providing the same amount of assists.
With 11-goal contributions in just eight games, Boniface has been the most in-form Eagle in Europe this season. The 22-year-old has scored eight goals and provided three assists across the Bundesliga, Europa League and DFB-Pokal for Leverkusen.
New Milan signing Chukwueze is still enduring a slow start in Italy, failing to score or provide an assist in seven appearances for the Rossoneri, albeit only starting one game.
It remains to be seen who Peseiro will pick for the starting line-up against Saudi Arabia and Mozambique. With so many talented forwards to choose from, it’s going to be a tough decision. However, one thing is certain — whoever Peseiro picks will be eager to make an impact and help the Super Eagles secure a victory and extend their three-game winning run.
