Emmanuel Dennis has sent his best wishes to the Super Eagles.
The Watford striker withdrew from the squad after a technical error by the NFF.
After the brouhaha that surrounded Emmanuel Dennis over his withdrawal from the Super Eagles squad to Cameroon, the Watford striker has spoken.
The Super Eagles had quite some time in putting together a team for the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon. The competition, which kicks off on January 9, will see the Super Eagles play their first game against the Pharaohs of Egypt.
Nigeria had drawn up a 40-man list that was pruned down to 28, only for a few players to pull out at the last minute. One of the players that opted out was Nigerian and Napoli hitman Victor Osimhen.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) had a drawn-out battle with Napoli over Victor Osimhen.
Osimhen had injured himself in a collision of heads with Inter Milan defender Milan Skrinniar. The doctors announced Osimhen would be out for two to three months, but he had an accelerated recovery that raised hope of recovering in time for AFCON. Osimhen finally pulled out of the competition due to Covid-19.
Another player that pulled out of the competition is Watford striker Emmanuel Dennis.
Dennis finally speaks
The Super Eagles are already in Garoua and are in full battle mode, with the competition set to kick off this weekend. Twenty-five players travelled from Abuja to Cameroon to fly the country’s flag. One of the players that opted out of the team at the final stage is Emmanuel Dennis. Interim coach Augustine had to look for a last-minute replacement for the striker.
Emmanuel Dennis, who maintained radio silence all through the noise has spoken. The striker did not address the reason he missed the party in Cameroon. The striker took to his Twitter account to wish the Super Eagles well at AFCON.
Nigerians had expected more from the striker, but he has chosen not to speak about the incident at this moment. The feeling was that he would have been a big boost for the team, especially in the absence of Victor Osimhen. The Super Eagles have already moved on without the former Club Brugge striker.
Inclusion, exclusion and allegations
Emmanuel Dennis was selected for the Super Eagles team to AFCON in Cameroon. The news excited Nigerians as his quality is well known. He is currently the top scorer at Watford but has found it hard to break into the Super Eagles. The absence of Osimhen was ample opportunity for him to stake a proper claim to the No. 9 shirt.
It soon turned out that Dennis would not be in Cameroon as Watford hung on to a technical error to stop the Nigerian from representing his country. Many have accused the NFF of failing to have the striker in the team.
Watford has blamed the NFF for the error, claiming the invitation did not arrive within the stipulated period fixed by FIFA.
Despite the drama, he hopes the Super Eagles do well in Cameroon and has wished Augustine Eguavoen and his men the best.
This article was most recently revised and updated 3 years ago
