Leicester City striker, Iheanacho risks AFCON 2019
exclusion.
SPORTS
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| Kelechi Iheanacho |
It’s been a season to forget for Leicester
City striker, Kelechi Iheanacho, whose stock continues to drop following his
exclusion from the Super Eagles squad for this month’s AFCON qualifier against
Seychelles and a high profile
international friendly with Egypt at the Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba, Delta
State.
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The out of form Foxes forward is a regular
for the Eagles, since bursting onto the limelight after his exploits with the
Golden Eaglets at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates in 2013,
going up pocket 23 caps for the three-time African champions, despite
being just 22 years of age.
But failure to find the back of the net for
Nigeria and Leicester City since September of 2018,, it seems that the end is coming all too soon for a player who
emerged top scorer at UAE 2013 and was tipped to become the next big star of
world football, whose national team coach, Gernot Rohr, has wielded the big
stick on, by not naming him in the 23-man team for the two matchers during the
upcoming FIFA international window.
And Iheanacho’s situation becomes all too
precarious given that his Leicester teammate, Wilfred Ndidi, makes the national
team grade having been left out last
time around because of suspension, occasioned by getting a yellow card,. In
fairness to Ndidi, the midfielder has been a solid when in action for both club
and country, posting great ,performance in the team’s last Premier League tie
with Watford, which they lost 2-1.
Ndidi was rated high by commentators for his
good display in the game. He was very busy mopping up possession and sniffing
out danger in front of his central defenders. He was one of Leicester’s more
effective players as they chased the game.. He was scored eight points from a
maximum
While Ndidi was blossoming in the sunshine
Spring against Watford, Iheanacho, who came in for Jamie Vardy on 82 minutes,
did not get a sight of the goal, during his time on the pitch, labouring in
vain to cancel out the home side’s lead.
Ridiculously, the former Manchester City
striker, who was shipped out by Pep Guardiola from the Citizens squad, has earned 30 appearances for City this
season, scoring just two goals, one in the Premier League.
His last featured match for the Super Eagles
was in November 2018, when Nigeria
played a barren draw with Uganda, who like the Eagles, have qualified for the
2019 African Cup of Nations, set to hold in Egypt from June.
In search of clinical strikers, who will
repay his faith in him with goals for the Super Eagles, Rohr has beamed his
strikers searchlight to as many as eight forward players with familiar faces,
comprising Ahmed Musa, Odion Oghalo, Alex Iwobi, Henry Onyekuru, Rotherham United’s Semi Ajayi
and Stoke’s Oghenekaro Etebo, a development that leaves Iheanacho
facing a possible exclusion from the 2019
AFCON team to Egypt.
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