Eguavoen reveals exactly what is keeping Nwakali out of Super Eagles starting lineup

Nigeria's caretaker coach Augustine Eguavoen has defended the performance of Kelechi Nwakali during the Super Eagles 3-1 win against Sudan at the Africa Cup of Nations on Saturday.

The former Arsenal midfielder made his international debut against Egypt last Tuesday and was given a run out for the last 25 minutes in today's clash against the Falcons, replacing Rangers ace Joe Aribo.

Going by his track record for the Nigerian youth teams, Nwakali has not lit up the Africa Cup of Nations yet.

In Eguavoen's opinion, the SD Huesca midfielder has not forced his way into the starting lineup because Aribo is ahead of him in the pecking order and the fact that Ndidi is not used to playing with him.

The 1994 Africa Cup of Nations winner has called on Super Eagles fans to be patient with Nwakali, adding that he will come good as the tournament progresses.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Eguavoen said : "More patience I'd say. He has been a fringe player in and out of the team now we have given him all the confidence to come in and not to start the game because Aribo is being there, good understanding with the team and with Ndidi in the middle of the park.

"Ndidi actually hasn't played with Kelechi so it's a little bit difficult to just change the team's formation so that's what it is.

"Kelechi we all know is a good player, we expect more than this from him. When he settles down you can see better football from him.

"He didn't do that badly and when you lack match rhythm it also affects but I think he performed well."

Nwakali was initially left out of Nigeria's provisional squad list for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations but was added to the finalized roster after the appointment of Eguavoen as interim manager.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel