Siasia Plans Massive Overhaul of Olympic Team, Mikel, Ighalo to be Included

Siasia Plans Massive Overhaul of Olympic Team, Mikel, Ighalo to be Included

Nigeria U23 coach Samson Siasia plans a massive clear out of the side less than two months to the Rio Olympics going by the several new faces who attended the US visa interview ahead of the team’s scheduled training camp in Atlanta, USA.

Nigeria internationals Kingsley Madu, Moses Simon, Daniel Akpeyi and Wilfred Ndidi are set to force their way to the Dream Team VI despite not featuring in the qualification campaign, Vanguard writes.

All these players were at the US embassy in connection with visas for the training camp, which begins on June 29 in Atlanta as the coach intends to get the lads in sync before the tournament kicks off on August 4.

Shehu Abdullahi, Stanley Amuzie, Musa Mohammed and Godwin Saviour are also slated for the training camp after they played in the qualifiers for the U23 AFCON, while the rumoured over-aged selection, Chelsea’s Mikel Obi and Watford striker Odion Ighalo gives the team a completely different outlook to the one that featured at the U23 AFCON in Senegal in December.

Changes to the Dream Team VI became imperative after their poor showing at the Suwon invitational tourney last month where they lost two games and struggled to pick up a victory against less fancied Honduras in the final game.

Nigeria have been drawn alongside Colombia, Sweden and Japan in the men’s football event in Rio.