2019 AFCOQ Roster : Two Reasons Behind Rohr Snubbing Samuel Chukwueze

Published: March 06, 2019

Super Eagles head coach Gernot Rohr released his team list for Seychelles clash — which is set to take place at the Stephen Keshi Stadium in less than three weeks time — and Villarreal's youngster Samuel Chukwueze was a surprise omission.

The 19-year-old had a very eventful 2018 in which he made his official first-team debut for the struggling La Liga side.

He equally made his long overdue Super Eagles debut against Uganda in a friendly match that ended in a goalless draw.

Despite his impressive showings in his previous game with the three-time African Champions , Gernot Rohr has decided to leave him out of his team, thereby, fueling speculations among soccer-loving Nigerians that the player might fail to make the team's AFCON 2019 squad.

As much as Rohr's decision to snub the lively winger appears too harsh, the Franco-German boss shouldn't be criticized by fans as there are two major reasons why the youngster couldn't avoid being dropped by the gaffer.

Lack of regular action at club level

The young winger has failed to tie down a permanent spot in Villarreal's starting XI since the return of Javier Calleja in January.

He has seen just 1,342 minutes of action in all competitions this season and that has drastically reduced his blistering form and confidence level.

Considering his bit-part role and his recent uninspiring form with Villarreal , Rohr had no better option than to ignore him in his latest squad list.

Intense competition for place in the attacking department

Chukwueze's snub could be traced to intense competition among Nigerian strikers and wingers during the compilation of squad list.

Samuel Kalu continues to play massive role in Bordeaux's charge for Ligue 1 trophy ; Victor Osimhen is in a deadly goalscoring form with Belgian side Charleroi ; Henry Onyekuru continues to show his attacking prowess with Turkish side Galatasaray ; and Paul Onuachu's form is just too good to be ignored by Rohr and his backroom staff.

Simon Moses, and Ahmed Musa are doing fine with their respective clubs, hence, Chukwueze has limited chances of making the list and it wasn't a surprise to see him left out of the team.

Chukwueze must regain his place in Villarreal's starting line-up as soon as possible because it will boost his chances of returning to the Super Eagles team ahead of AFCON 2019.

Ibukun Italoye