'Let me confess' - Pinnick reveals the one time he influenced the selection of Super Eagles players

Nigeria Football Federation supremo Amaju Pinnick has confessed that he had influenced the selection of Super Eagles players only once in the past and was eventually proved right.

There were rumours in the aftermath of Nigeria's failure to qualify for the 2022 World Cup that those upstairs at the Nigerian Federation selected the squad that faced Ghana in the back-to-back matches last month - something which has been dismissed by Pinnick.

Pinnick admitted that he advised Eguavoen to give some minutes to two experienced players in the squad, Odion Ighalo and Ahmed Musa, who is the only player to have faced Ghana, albeit in a friendly eleven years ago.

The former Super Eagles caretaker manager informed Pinnick that Musa could only play for 45 minutes and Ighalo for the entirety of the game but made the call to start the game in Abuja without the duo.

The former Manchester United and Leicester City strikers came on for the last twelve minutes against the Black Stars in Abuja but couldn't influence the outcome of the match.

Speaking to Arise News, Pinnick said : "Eguavoen even said on television, Amuneke also said it. As President of the Federation I'm a major stakeholder, I know what football is.

"I may not be a coach but I ask simple questions that a layman will ask.

"Ahmed Musa has been the only player that played against Ghana so understand their mentality and physique.

"I asked a simple question, 'how many minutes can he play?', then I said I rest my case. I have never and no member of the Federation has influenced the selection."

Pinnick admitted that he forced the hand of former manager Gernot Rohr into naming Ahmed Musa on his roster for the 2018 World Cup and the winger ended up being Nigeria's top performer in Russia in terms of goals scored.

"What they do when they select a player they send it to me, the only time, let me confess today, I objected to a list was the list sent by Gernot Rohr without Ahmed Musa before the World Cup in 2018, when Ahmed Musa had domestic issues, and he said he wasn't going to invite him one of the qualifying matches.

"I said no if a player has issues in his club it's the country that will help him especially those players that have performed in the past .

"There was a small argument and he invited Ahmed Musa. The rest is history today because Ahmed Musa was the star in the last World Cup. That was the only time I intervened."

Had the Super Eagles qualified for the 2022 World Cup, they would have shared a bonus payout of US$3.5 million dollars.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel