Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle has singled out Tosin Oyedokun for praise following the midfielder’s impressive displays in camp ahead of Nigeria’s opening fixture against Zimbabwe at the Unity Cup tournament in London.
Tosin earned an invitation to the national team after an outstanding campaign with Ikorodu City, where he scored four goals and registered three assists in 32 league appearances for the Lagos-based side.
Despite his performances, Ikorodu City narrowly missed out on a CAF Confederation Cup ticket after suffering a final-day defeat to Rangers International.
Speaking ahead of Tuesday’s encounter, Chelle revealed that the Nigeria Premier Football League players have impressed him in training, while specifically highlighting Tosin’s technical quality on the ball.
“Some of them are good with the ball, like Tosin, who plays for Ikorodu City,” Chelle said to Proudly Austin. “But the most important thing is that they try to understand what we want for this team.”
The Malian tactician admitted that adapting quickly to the demands of the national team remains a challenge for the home-based players, especially with limited preparation time before the tournament.
“It is difficult for these players because they have to show something after two training sessions. Maybe they can have a lot of pressure,” he added.
“I want them to come with motivation. You are playing for Nigeria, and the only pressure you can have is to give everything on the pitch.
“After that, you will make a lot of mistakes, but this is not the end, because if there are no mistakes, there are no goals in football. Don’t be scared of anything; be ready to go to war.”
Chelle also explained that the Unity Cup presents an ideal opportunity to assess domestic league talents.
“Like I said when I was in Nigeria, I wanted to give a chance to home-based players. They can show their strengths, and this is a good tournament,” Chelle noted.
“This is not a FIFA date, so normally we cannot bring some European players. For me, it was the best option, and I’m very happy the home-based players are trying to understand what I want from the first training session, because we only had two training sessions before the game against Zimbabwe.
“They come with a big team, but in football, if you have a good state of mind and if you want to be aggressive on the pitch, you can do something very positive.”
The Super Eagles opened camp with 14 players, but the number has now increased to 17 following the arrivals of Francis Uzoho, Chibuike Nwaiwu, and Rafiu Durosinmi as preparations intensified ahead of the clash.
Nigeria, who are defending champions of the Unity Cup, will begin their campaign against Zimbabwe on Tuesday, May 26, in London.
Adeyemi Adewale
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