As Nigeria steps up preparations for the U20 World Cup in Argentina, head coach of the Nigeria U20 team Ladan Bosso has picked 15 foreign based players in his expanded 50 man provisional list for the tournament.
The coach will trim the list to 23 in three weeks time with the tournament set to get underway on the 20th of May with Nigeria opening their campaign on the 21st with their first group game against the Dominican Republic.
Their second game will be against Italy and there is the likelihood of an Italian born Nigerian lining up against the country of his birth following the decision of Bosso to hand a call up to Aleesandro Odobo Osakpolor.
Recommended by former Super Eagles striker Yakubu Aiyegbeni , the former Benevento youth teamer currently plays for the U19 of top division Polish side Lechia Gdańsk. He joined the team in the summer after making a brief stop at the reserve team of Austrian side FC Wacker Innsbruck.
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According to one of his trainers at the Austrian, he did not meet the age requirements to be signed and the team could not register him without breaking FIFA rules. Added to this was the confusion with the bankruptcy of the club – Wacker players and players did not receive salary for half a year.
However, the coach spoke very flatteringly about the player’s football skills. In his opinion, Alessandro is a very talented player with great potential. He is also seen as one with a great temperament, which always helped him. According to the coach, he always played well in friendlies and for this reason he often trained with the senior team.
He is one of the players Bosso is hoping will ease the goal scoring issues of the Nigerian team that was very visible during the U20 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt, where they finished third to seal a spot at the World Cup.
Mohammed Mowiz
