CAF U-23 Competition: Osimhen Bags Dream Team VI No 9 Shirt

Golden Eaglets of Nigeria wonder kid Victor Osimhen,
has been given the Number 9 shirt for the Dream Team
VI ahead of the CAF U-23 championship set to
commence today, November 28, in Senegal.

Osimhen, who was a late replacement for Isaac
Success in the Olympic Team, also wore the No 9 shirt
for the Golden Eaglets at the U-17 World Cup in Chile.
Captain of the side, Azubuike Okechukwu, who is based
in Turkey, will maintain his number 14 jersey, while
Liverpool youngster Taiwo Awoniyi keeps the No 18
shirt, which he wore for the Flying Eagles at the African
Youth Championship in Senegal in March,
Africanfootball.com reports.

Osimhen lashes a shot into the net to put Nigeria ahead

against Mali at Chile 2015

Reacting to Osimhen’s late inclusion in the team, the
former Super Eagles coach Christian Chukwu, said that
U-17 star, is not too young to do well in the U-23 team.
According to Chukwu, the 16-year-old has qualities to
succeed at that level.
Chukwu told The Punch: “Osimhen is a talented player
and he is not too young to play in the Under-23 team.
“Many world-class players began at a very young age.
Pele and Neymar started playing for the Brazilian senior
national team when they were very young.
“Osimhen is not even too young to play in the Super
Eagles. The Under 23 team is a good place for him to
develop and I believe his participation in the
tournament (Senegal 2015) will do him a lot of good as
well as helping the team.”
He also advised Siasia and his team to try and win their
first game, as it will put them in a good position.
“The first match of any competition is very important if
the team wants to go far.
“It helps to avoid the trouble of resulting to
permutations to leave the group and it also eases
pressure off a team in the other matches.”

Victor Osimhen who is the 2015 FIFA U-17 Golden Boot
and Silver Ball winner, was called up into Samson
Siasia’s 21-man squad to the African U-23
Championship in Senegal.
It was gathered that Siasia could not guarantee that
Granada striker Isaac Success will be available, hence,
called up Osimhen.
The Africa U-23 Cup of Nations will be played in
Senegal from November 28 to December 12. Nigeria are
drawn in the Group B of the U-23 Nations Cup along
with Egypt, Mali and Algeria.