Samson Siasia has disclosed that he’s having issues with his team selection after Victor Osimhen‘s incredible performance against Senegal in the semi final of the event during the week.
The FIFA U17 golden boot winner came in as a substitute and shortly after, the Nigeria U23 team got the penalty which gave them the Olympics ticket and final of the African U23 championship ticket against Algeria on Saturday.
Osimhen, 17, headed the ball into the box for goalkeeper and defender to clatter into each other leading to a penalty which Nigeria’s Etebo Oghenekaro converted for the match winner on Wednesday.
“Victor Osimhen had a good outing against Senegal, which is giving me (selection) problems ahead of the final,” admitted Siasia at a pre-match briefing in Dakar.
“I think he will play but I cannot confirm if he will start.”
Siasia restated his team’s target on Saturday is to win the U23 AFCON after they qualified for next year’s Rio Olympics.
“The objective was to qualify for the Olympics, which we achieved against Senegal. Now, we’ve set another objective which is to win because we want to win the tournament for our people back in Nigeria.
“We’re very happy to be in the final. It has been a long journey with some ups and downs, but it feels good to be in the final.
“We know our opponents (Algeria) very well having played them (in the group phase) and seeing their matches.”
The coach maintained his team have put behind their cash problems to aim for glory.
“The players worked hard to get to Rio de Janeiro because they want to make the country proud. It doesn’t matter if they have received match bonuses or not, what is important is to play and win for Nigeria,” he urged.
