Sport
Karpin Says Super Eagles is Still Strong Even Without Osimhen and Lookman
Russia’s head coach, Valery Karpin, believes Nigeria will still pose a strong challenge despite the absence of star forwards Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman. As Russia prepares to take on the Super Eagles in a friendly match at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium this Friday, Karpin acknowledged the quality of the players missing from the Nigerian squad, but insisted their absence doesn’t weaken the team in a major way.
“I would have liked to see Osimhen and Lookman in action,” Karpin said in a chat with Komsomolskaya Pravda. “It would have been a good test for us. But even without them, Nigeria remains a solid side.” Nigeria’s coach, Eric Chelle, also left out Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey for the clash, but the team still has momentum. The Super Eagles are coming off a Unity Cup win, having edged Jamaica 5-4 on penalties after a thrilling 2-2 draw in regulation time. The friendly against Russia is set to kick off at 6 p.m. Nigerian time.
Ghanaian Referee, Daniel Laryea, who officiated the Nigeria vs Morocco game in AFCON gets interviews and shared his experience.
The referee reveals how it was his first time in a semi final and was kind of nervous. “I’ve been to three AFCON tournaments, but this is the first time I’ve been in a semi-final.”
“So when coaches choose you for that game, they know your skills and what you can do. But of course, you feel a little nervous because of the level of the match.”
Nigerian Footballer, Bright Osayi-Samuel , react to match as Super Eagles lose to Morocco.
The player calls out CAF for their referee appointment. He shares how the Ghanaian Referee was tough on the field and made bad choices.
“One thing I would say is that the referee was really bad. I’m not saying that was the reason we lost. He is making really bad choices and it’s really tough to watch because we have referees like this in big games like today.
He then praises Morocco for a good game “But Morocco did really well.”
Super Eagles Coach, Eric Chelle speaks and shared why Nigeria lost the AFCON match to Morocco.
It can be noted that the match was held on the 14th of January, 2026. Nigeria lost the match with a draft in the penalties, 4-2.
During a recent interview, Chelle shared his observations about the match and shared why they lost.
“From a technical point of view, the Super Eagles weren’t at the same level as we displayed in our other matches.”
“I don’t want to say the reason was fatigue, but the truth is that we lacked movement and power.”
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