'He was cramping' - Balogun admits Abuja heat affected Bassey, Super Eagles stars v Ghana

Former Rangers central defender Leon Balogun has admitted that the hot weather affected the performance of Calvin Bassey and other Super Eagles players during their 1-1 draw with Ghana in the 2022 World Cup playoffs back in March. 

Bassey, who was handed his full debut by interim boss Augustine Eguavoen, was singled out for criticism by fans and pundits alike after the Super Eagles failed to qualify for the World Cup and trended on social media for a couple of days. 

In truth, Bassey couldn't cope with the Abuja weather and leaving him on the pitch for 88 minutes was another tactical blunder by Eguavoen as the Italian-born defender exhibited defensive frailties. 

After the game, Nigeria legend Daniel Amokachi questioned the pedigree of the Super Eagles players born abroad, labeling them average players and underlined that their countries of birth never wanted them. 

Balogun has stressed that the unfavorable weather conditions affected the whole team including the homegrown players. 

"I remember Calvin, not breaking down, but he was tired, and then I remember some players, " Balogun said on The Beautiful Game Podcast.

"Some pundits came out saying that we shouldn't invite players that are not fit to play African football, because he (Bassey) said in an interview before that he needs to get used to the heat, but I'm sorry we played in Abuja.

"Most of us play in Europe so it doesn't matter if players are from Abuja. If you spend the majority of the year in Europe, in England, I'm sorry you're not going to be used to that heat of 37 degrees, that's just nonsense.

"He played his heart out but he was cramping up and everything, lot of us. I was tired but you just try to keep going and try again.

"We tried everything but everything on that day was not good enough."

Super Eagles coach Jose Peserio continues to keep faith with Bassey, with the left-footed central defender starting each of the last six matches played by the national team. 

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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