26th May, 2016
A statement issued by Ademola Olajire, the Assistant Director, Communications of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), said Watford FC of England forward Odion Ighalo was the first to arrive at the team’s camp on Tuesday night.
It said that 16 other players joined Ighalo in the camp in preparation for the encounter scheduled to take place at the Stade Robert Diochon in Rouen on Friday night.
The 17 players include the nine who left from Abuja aboard an Air France flight on Tuesday.
They are Ogenyi Onazi, Brown Ideye, Abdullahi Shehu, Umar Aminu, Kingsley Madu, Elderson Echiejile, Ikechukwu Ezenwa, Etebo Oghenekaro and Musa Muhammed.
There are also England-based goalkeeper Carl Ikeme, Germany-based defender Leon Balogun, Arsenal of England’s Alex Iwobi and Belgium-based forward Moses Simon.
South Africa’s-based goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi and Norway-based defender William Troost Ekong are expected on Thursday, while Manchester City forward Kelechi Iheanacho and Turkey-based defender Kenneth Omeruo have been held back by visa hitch.
The statement, however, quoted Super Eagles’ administrator Enebi Achor as saying that Iheanacho and Omeruo were hopeful of getting their visa latest Thursday.
The team trained on Wednesday evening and will train twice on Thursday at 9 a.m. and at 6 p.m.