“Emenike served Nigeria well and I think he gave it a lot of thought before he chose to retire; we wish him all the best, but nobody is irreplaceable, only Nigeria is irreplaceable”.
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Super Eagles Coach, Sunday Oliseh, yesterday said that he was not 100% fit to return to work, but for the crucial nature of the double header Russian Federation 2018 World Cup qualifier between Nigeria and Swaziland on Friday and next Tuesday respectively.
Martins arrived in the company of Lazio’s Ogenyi Onazi and Portugal-based Shehu Abdullahi on Wednesday to complete the 24-man squad of invited players by coach Sunday Oliseh.
The veteran forward had earlier admitted plans to retire from global duties after he was ingnored by the former Super Eagles coach.
“They are a team that shocked Guinea and it is not going to be easy playing them especially when we are playing them on an artificial turf at their home”.
“With all due respect, I don’t expect them to pose so much of a threat but we still have to approach the game with all the seriousness it deserves, as underdogs they have nothing to lose hence they will play with freedom”.
“But the boys are in high spirits and I’m optimistic”.
“We have missed them as the players are not here because of flight problems”. It is Lufthansa, I don’t know if anybody knows about the flight.
“Our recent tour in Belgium should be good enough preparation for us”, he said.
“There are no small countries in football and so I will prepare to play against Swaziland as I would against Arsenal”, said the striker, who has scored twice for his country.
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The victor over two legs would enter the third round of qualifying.
