Super Eagles head Coach Austin Eguavoen has defended his inclusion of Onazi Ogenyi in the World Cup playoff squad to face Ghana, explaining it was a strategic move to “pacify everybody”.
Onazi, 29, last featured for Nigeria at the World Cup in Russia, but lost his place in the team chiefly due to a lengthy injury.
In a recent interview the player discussed his readiness to return to the national team, however in reality competition for places in the team is stiff and Onazi himself is at the bottom rung of the pecking order.
But, when asked about the Player’s “shock” inclusion in the squad list for the crucial qualifiers against the Black Stars of Ghana at a meet and greet in Lagos, Eguavoen described it as a necessary move.
“Onazi good player,” Eguavoen explained. “Whether he is still good; can play at that level, we don’t know.
“But that’s why I said, okay you know what, to pacify everybody, to just make sure there’s harmony here, put him on a standby. But he is on a standby. But again I have the final say.”
