The national Under-23 team, Dream Team IV, currently in camp in Banjul, Gambia, are gearing up for competition in Dakar for the CAF Africa Under-23 Cup of Nations.
Led by Samson Siasia, the team has gone about their business in a secluded area in Banjul, far away from the prying eyes of the Nigerian public.
Siasia and his wards have the arduous task of picking a ticket at the championship which is designed to select Africa’s representatives for the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Nigeria missed the last edition in London in 2012 and will look to make up for that with qualification for the event which Nigeria won in 1996 when a Nwankwo Kanu-inspired side led the team to beat Brazil in the semifinals and then Argentina in the final.
Siasia was in charge of the 2008 Under-23 team to the Beijing Olympics that lost in the final to an Argentina side that had the likes of Angel Di Maria and Lionel Messi.
The team had a chance to go up against the best Under-23 sides on the continent at the All Africa Games in Congo in September. Siasia and his wards picked up the bronze medal at that games and will look forward to another fine finish on the podium at Senegal 2015.
Twenty-four players are currently in camp in Banjul, as Tunisia-based in-form forward Junior Ajayi has joined up with the team.
The Dream Team VI defeated a top-flight Gambian side 3-0 in their first test game in Banjul last week. Warri Wolves striker Oghenekaro Etebo scored a hat-trick in the game, the first in a three-game tour before the team departed for Morocco.
The Gambia’s Under-20 side held the Dream Team to a 1-1 draw on Monday at Brikama as the Nigerian team continue their build-up to the Under-23 tournament.
Nigeria will play in Group B of the tournament and will face Mali, Algeria and Egypt for a place in the semifinals.
The tournament runs from November 28 through to December 12 in the Senegalese cities of Dakar and M’bour.
Meanwhile, coach Samson Siasia has named three foreign-based players in his 21-man squad, including Taiwo Awoniyi, who is on loan from Liverpool to German side FSV Frankfurt, with Victor Osimhen, top scorer at the Under-17 World Cup, included in Nigeria’s squad for the Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations in Senegal.
Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations:
Group A: Senegal, South Africa, Zambia, Tunisia
Group B: Egypt, Algeria, Mali, Nigeria
Twelve players from the squad that won a bronze medal at this year’s All African Games in Congo-Brazzaville, including Erhun Obanor, Kingsley Sokari, Etor Daniel and Mustapha Abdullahi, have been omitted.
Nigeria boast a proud Olympics football record, having won gold medals at the Atlanta Games in 1996.
They also finished runners-up at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where current under-23 coach Siasia also coached the ‘Dream Team’ in China.
However, the so-called ‘Dream Team V’ led by Austin Eguavoen failed to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics after crashing out in the group stages of the qualifying tournament in Morocco.
The full squad:
Goalkeepers: Yusuf Mohammed (Kano Pillars), Emmanuel Iwu (Heartland), Emmanuel Daniel (Enugu Rangers)
Defenders: Zaharadeen Bello (Kano Pillars), Seun Olubayo (Sunshine Stars), Chizoba Amaefule (Dolphins), Ebuka Iroha (Diamond Football Academy), Sincere Seth (Supreme Court FC), Seun Oduduwa (Nath Boys)
Midfielders: Azubuike Okechukwu (Yeni Matalatyaspor, Turkey), Godspower Aniefiok (Kano Pillars), Ndifreke Effiong (Abia Warriors), Usman Mohammed (FC Taraba),Tiongoli Tobara (Bayelsa United), Bature Yaro (Nasarawa United), Oghenekaro Etebo, Stanley Dimgba (both Warri Wolves)
Forward: Taiwo Awoniyi (FSV Frankfurt, Germany), Victor Osimhen (Ultimate Strikers Academy), Junior Ajayi (CS Sfaxien, Tunisia), Kufre Ebong (Warri Wolves)
