Officials of the NFF have confirmed that Captain of the Super Eagles, John Mikel Obi will return to the team’s starting XI against Argentina in Krasnodar, Russia.
Media Officer of the Super Eagles, Toyin Ibitoye, confirmed yesterday that the international friendly with Argentina will kick off by 5pm Nigerian time.
“The game will start at 7pm local time, which is 5pm in Nigeria,” Ibitoye confirmed on arrival in the Russian city from Algeria.
The Eagles arrived Russia via a chartered flight on Saturday from Algeria.
They will have their first training yesterday evening at the match venue in Krasnodar.
It was reported yesterday that the weather conditions in Krasnodar are similar to the cold the team encountered in Constantine, Algeria – lowest 6-9 degrees and warmest 17-19 degrees.
According to the rule of the game pushed out by its organisers, maximum changes of six players per team are allowed for this match.
La Albiceleste skipper Lionel Messi has returned to Catalonia to link up with Barcelona ahead of their La Liga clash against Leganes, so will not play against the Super Eagles.
According to Ole Argentina, the players that started Saturday’s friendly against Russia took part in a recovery session, while the rest of the players in the squad trained more rigorously.
Manager Jorge Sampaoli gave a hint of the three strikers that will start against Nigeria, with Paulo Dybala, Dario Benedetto and Diego Perotti forming an attacking trident during the session.
Dybala is enjoying a fine season, with 13 goals (2 assists) to his name from 17 appearances across all competitions for Juventus.
The former Instituto AC Cordoba wonderkid has 11 caps for Argentina’s senior national team and played the last three minutes against Russia on Saturday.
