Paris 2024 Qualifiers: Yusuf invites 16 foreign-based players against Guinea

U-23 national team coach, Salisu Yusuf. PHOTO: BBC

National U-23 Head Coach, Salisu Yusuf, has invited 16 foreign-based players in preparation for the March 28 CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final qualifying duel against Guinea.

The Nigerian Olympic team is scheduled to meet its counterpart from Guinea on March 22 at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja. The return leg is slated for March 28 at the Complexe Sportif Prince Heritier Moulay Al Hassan, as Guinea does not a venue approved for international matches.

In the list of Coach Yusuf’s squad include, the team’s captain, Success Makanjuola. Makanjuola’s converted spot kicks against Tanzania earned the 1996 Olympic gold-medallist passage to this final round. Also in the team are midfielder, Abiodun Ogunniyi and Bello Babatunde, as well as Belgium-based new headline-grabber, Gift Emmanuel Orban.

As it happened against the Tanzanians in Dar es Salaam and Ibadan in October last year, Makanjuola is expected to lead the charge against the Guineans in Abuja on March 22, perhaps alongside Orban, with Babatunde and Ogunniyi (nicknamed Omo-Jesu) pulling the strings from the middle.

The winner on aggregate will qualify for the U-23 AFCON scheduled for Morocco later this year. And thereafter, Africa’s representatives in the 2024 Olympic men’s football event will emerge.

The players invited include: Success Makanjuola (FK Liepaja, Latvia); Bello Babatunde (Future FC, Egypt); Isaiah Ejeh (Mjallby Alf, Sweden); Abiodun Ogunniyi (FK Auda, Latvia); Monsuru Opeyemi Abdullahi (FC Vizela, Portugal); Omole Akinyinka Olaoluwakitan (Athletic Newham, UK); Owen Tega Udoh (UD San Sebastian Reyes, Spain); Azeez Temitope Yusuf (Mjallby Alf, Sweden); Charles Uba (Lillestrom FC, Norway); Simon