'NPFL players have the quality to play at the AFCON' - Two-cap Super Eagles striker

Super Eagles striker Stephen Odey has suggested that more home-based players should be given more opportunities in the national team, Soccernet.ng reports.

Portuguese tactician Jose Peseiro named just one local player- Olorunleke Ojo- in his squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, and that decision has sparked a serious debate among fans.

Some fans are quite critical of the league, as they believe the players can not measure up to the ones in Europe. This argument is backed by the fact that NPFL clubs have struggled on the continent recently.

Meanwhile, others are of the opinion that local content is the only element that is missing in the national team. Moreover, the Super Eagles’ best years have come with home-based players in the team.

In a related development, Former MFM FC striker Odey, who made his national team debut while playing in the NPFL, believe that the players in the league should get more chances.

“I feel NPFL players have the quality to play at the AFCON, It’s just about giving them the opportunity,” Odey said, per Tobi Adepoju.

“If you give them the opportunity, they are going to do their best as well because football is not about playing in Europe or Nigeria. It’s about the quality in us. We saw this during the 2013 Nations Cup when Sunday Mba was in Nigeria’s squad despite playing in the local league at the time.

Odey was one of the NPFL’s best legs in the 2016/17 season before moving to Europe in 2017. The 25-year-old striker currently plies his trade at Danish club FC Randers.

He has been out of the national team since 2017 and was not considered for Nigeria’s AFCON squad.