Coordinator of the Super Eagles, Patrick Pascal has waded into the issue of using home-based players in crucial matches of the Nigerian national team and countered with a view that even the country’s football fans would not feel comfortable seeing lads from the local league lined up for the World Cup qualifiers.
With four more matches to go in rhe race to the 2026 Mundial, which will be co-hosted by Canada, USA and Mexico, Sports247 reports that a strong debate is already spreading over the chances of home-based players getting invitations to be part of the squad to battle Rwanda and South Africa in September as well as Lesotho and Benin Republic in October.
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Though Eagles’ coach, Eric Chelle called up 10 home-based players for the recent four-nation invitational Unity Cup in London, and six played the first match against Ghana, with three even getting into the starting list, Pascal alleges that many Nigerians would not feel comfortable if the same strategy is used for the World Cup qualifiers.
The former right-full-back, who was part of Nigeria’s under-23 squad that won the Atlanta ’96 Olympic Games, posited: “If everybody has confidence, then we can agree that the coach can try other players … knowing that every player has to start from somewhere.
“You can not attend university without first going to primary school and nursery. Everybody has to start from somewhere. So, if all of us have the mind, then we can use home-based players against Rwanda and South Africa.”
Pascal, who also played for Wikki Tourist of Bauchi and Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC) of Ibadan, added that giving opportunities to players from the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) would lay a solid ground for future values in the national team, but stressed that such privileges do not come to all footballers.
He added, “One thing about the national team is that it’s a career that depends on time … if you don’t leave football, football will leave you. All of us would love to play in the national team, but we can’t do that. So, we are just watching and clapping.”
The ex-international defender, who is fondly called ‘PP’ and is now the chairman of Bauchi Football Association, concluded by stressing that opting for home-based players in the upcoming World Cup qualifiers is a choice that Chelle cannot take alone, considering that the Franco-Malian tactician might come under attack from critics and insatiable Nigerian fans before the games are played, thereby causing distractions for the coach and players.
“We have to decide for the World Cup qualifiers. For instance, South Africa are using their league players. So, I don’t see any reason for us being scared to do the same now,” Pascal reasoned.
