Nigeria’s female national team, Super Falcons’ coach, Justin Madugu has come out with an emphatic declaration that six-time African Women’s Footballer of The Year, Asisat Oshoala is still very much relevant to his squad, Sports247 reports.
This comes against the backdrop of the omission of Oshoala’s name from the Falcons’ recent list of invitees for upcoming international friendlies against Cameroon, but Madugu stressed that it does not mean the Bay FC of USA striker has been discarded.
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Madugu added, “Oshoala is a very key and integral part of the team. Her services and contributions, her presence, her leadership, and every other thing about her can not be dispensed with.”
The Falcons’ gaffer then went on to explain why the 30-year-old former Barcelona of Spain star, who also previously played for Arsenal and Liverpool of England earlier in her career, was left out of the roster for the forthcoming games against Cameroon, billed to hold at two different venues in Ogun State.
He expatiated: “She’s one of the players we really know much about. We know their strength, and we know what they can bring to the team. So, we need to give others a chance to really see what they can also do.”
While critics continue inferring that Oshoala, who has 37 goals in 61 international games for Nigeria and captained the Falcons for a year, is now past her prime, Madugu stressed that he will not push aside the product of FC Robo Queens of Lagos, who also played for Rivers Angels of Port Harcourt before moving abroad in 2015.
“It’s not as if she is no longer relevant to the team. Oshoala is still very much relevant to the Nigerian national team,” Madugu reiterated
