Siasia Rewards U-17 Wonder Kid Osimhen

Golden Eaglets of Nigeria wonder kid Victor Osimhen, has been given the Number 9 shirt for the Dream Team VI ahead of the CAF U-23 championship set to commence today, November 28, in Senegal.

Osimhen, who was a late replacement for Isaac Success in the Olympic Team, also wore the No 9 shirt for the Golden Eaglets at the U-17 World Cup in Chile.

Captain of the side, Azubuike Okechukwu, who is based in Turkey, will maintain his number 14 jersey, while Liverpool youngster Taiwo Awoniyi keeps the No 18 shirt, which he wore for the Flying Eagles at the African Youth Championship in Senegal in March, Africanfootball.com reports.

READ ALSO: Gov Okorocha Fails To Meet Golden Eaglets

Osimhen lashes a shot into the net to put Nigeria ahead against Mali at Chile 2015

Reacting to Osimhen’s late inclusion in the team, the former Super Eagles coach Christian Chukwu, said that U-17 star, is not too young to do well in the U-23 team.

According to Chukwu, the 16-year-old has qualities to succeed at that level.

Chukwu told The Punch: “Osimhen is a talented player and he is not too young to play in the Under-23 team.

“Many world-class players began at a very young age. Pele and Neymar started playing for the Brazilian senior national team when they were very young.

“Osimhen is not even too young to play in the Super Eagles. The Under 23 team is a good place for him to develop and I believe his participation in the tournament (Senegal 2015) will do him a lot of good as well as helping the team.”

He also advised Siasia and his team to try and win their first game, as it will put them in a good position.

“The first match of any competition is very important if the team wants to go far.

“It helps to avoid the trouble of resulting to permutations to leave the group and it also eases pressure off a team in the other matches.”

READ ALSO: Siasia Picks Golden Eaglet Star Osimhen, 20 Others For Olympics Qualifiers

Victor Osimhen who is the 2015 FIFA U-17 Golden Boot and Silver Ball winner, was called up into Samson Siasia’s 21-man squad to the African U-23 Championship in Senegal.

It was gathered that Siasia could not guarantee that Granada striker Isaac Success will be available, hence, called up Osimhen.

The Africa U-23 Cup of Nations will be played in Senegal from November 28 to December 12. Nigeria are drawn in the Group B of the U-23 Nations Cup along with Egypt, Mali and Algeria.

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