The Super Eagles’ 1-0 loss to Egypt in March thwarted their hopes of reaching Gabon 2017 in a group reduced to only three teams following Chad’s withdrawal for financial reasons.
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Despite their failure to book qualification to next year’s Afcon tournament, Nigeria have named a strong 23-man squad to play Tanzania on Saturday in Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
The match is the first match for new Super Eagles technical Gernot Rohr, although the match has no impact.
They however will play a World Cup qualifying match against Zambia next month.
“We need to look at the player in Arsenal (Iwobi) and the player who scored four goals in match at the Olympics (Etebo)”, he said.
” So, they did it, and I am happy for them for the staff and Nigerian people”, he said.
He said that the team needed more of such support when they play the World Cup qualifying matches and assured that the team would continue to do well.
Enyeama quit the Super Eagles following a fractured relationship with former coach, Sunday Oliseh on October 8, 2015, a feud which led to him been stripped of the captaincy.
The experienced coach also praised the heroic Tanzania goalkeeper Aishi Manula, who made several big saves to keep his team in the game till Iheanacho’s 78th minute blaster.
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Tanzania will be the outsiders when the game gets underway at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo, but coach Charles Boniface Mkwasa will have every confidence in his side.
