Olanrewaju Kayode's Ex-Teammate Appointed By Croatia To Spy On Nigeria

Olanrewaju Kayode's former teammate at Austria Vienna, Ognjen Vukojević, will be among the spectators when Nigeria face Poland in a pre-World Cup friendly at Municipal Stadium Wroclaw on March 23.

Sportske Novosti has reported that Zlatko Dalić has installed Vukojević as a scout and one of the basic tasks will be his observation and analysis of the Nigerian team.

In terms of importance, Croatia have rated their opener against Nigeria on June 16 as the most crucial in Russia and his first job will be to watch the likes of Alex Iwobi, Victor Moses, Oghenekaro Etebo and Wilfred Ndidi in action against Lewandowski and co. next month.

A defensive midfielder during his playing career, Vukojević provided the lowdown on the Ukrainian team before their meeting with Croatia in October 2017.

Dynamo Kiev owner Igor Surkis gave him the green light to combine both jobs - scouting for the Ukrainian club and Croatia national team.

Ognjen Vukojević will also attend games involving Croatian national team players ahead of the World Cup.

The 34-year-old scored four goals in 54 appearances for Croatia before retiring in 2014.

Igho Kingsley