Super Eagles To Be Without Bassey, Onyeka For Mali Friendly Clash

Super Eagles duo of Calvin Bassey and Frank Onyeka have been ruled out of Nigeria’s friendly clash with Mali on Tuesday.

The two players have returned to their respective clubs in England for assessment due to injuries, Bassey missed the 2-1 win over Ghana on Friday.

Onyeka played the whole duration of the encounter and he is now set to be unavailable against Mali.

The Brentford midfielder played a key role in Nigeria’s march to the final of the 2023 Africa Nations Cup, he was rated the best tackler in the competition.

The likes of Raphael Onyedika, Alhassan Yusuf and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru will be hoping to get a chance to replace Onyeka against Mali.

Bassey was also impressive in Ivory Coast, playing a pivotal role in the team that had the best defensive record in the competition.

Finidi George is blessed with a lot of options to replace the Fulham defender, with the trio of Kenneth Omeruo, Benjamin Tiamiyu, and Chiedozie Awaziem ready to step in.

Nigeria will take on Mali at the Stade de Marrakech Stadium in Morocco on Tuesday in an international friendly match in preparation for the World Cup qualifiers in June.

Nigerians will be hoping that the team can continue from where they stopped against Ghana with another superb performance, which drew praises from football lovers in the country, who have started clamouring for Finidi George to be handed the job on a permanent basis.