Ighalo's AFCON miss takes a new twist as Super Eagle wears captain's armband for Al-Shabab

Published: January 22, 2022

Odion Ighalo continues to top the scoring charts in the Saudi Arabian Professional League after netting his 12th league goal for Al-Shabab as they were held to a 1-1 draw by visitors Al Fateh on Thursday evening, allnigeriasoccer.com reports.

Twenty minutes into the second half, the penalty-box predator scored a rare goal from outside the box, assisted by Paulinho, to give Al-Shabab a 1-0 lead but they were denied all three points after Murad Batna's 78th minute equaliser.

There was a little distraction before the Super Eagles headed to Cameroon for the Africa Cup of Nations with Al-Shabab standing their ground over the non-release of the striker to the Nigeria Football Federation, citing a FIFA rule that states that clubs must be notified of call-ups fifteen days before the start of a tournament.

Ighalo did everything possible in his power to honour the call-up but was blocked from traveling to Africa by Al-Shabab higher-ups.

The 32-year-old is seemingly being compensated for missing the Africa Cup of Nations with manager Péricles Chamusca handing him the captain's armband for the last thirty minutes against Al Fateh following the substitution of
Alfred N'Diaye.

The Nigeria Football Federation could not replace Ighalo on the AFCON roster as his non-release by Al-Shabab was not due to health reasons.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

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