Nigeria vs Algeria: Eagles undergo Covid-19 test

.Players in high spirit - Ibitoye

By Akeem Lawal

MEMBERS of the Nigeria national team, Super Eagles will today in Austria undergo a compulsory coronavirus test ahead of their international friendly match against Algeria billed to hold at the Wörthersee Stadium, Klagenfurt on Friday, Sportsbiz247.blogspot.com reports.

With Napoli striker Victor Osimhen already excused amidst Covid uncertainty at the Serie A side and the North Africa’s Ilyes Chetti missing the friendly after testing positive for virus, Media officer of the Super Eagles Toyin Ibitoye revealed that the test is part of the FIFA’s covid protocol to guide against unforeseen circumstances.

“Yes we will be having coronavirus test, it is a normal FIFA covid protocol,” Ibitoye begins in a chat with Sportzone on Wednesday.

“You can do it 48 hours and and then 24 hours again before the game. So everything is in place, the protocol arrangement here is in place, team’s medics are on top of the situation. The whole squad will be tested again tomorrow (today). Although everybody came in here clean and negative, there would be another round of testing and hopefully we don’t have any positive cases amongst us.

“Before you can come into Austria you have to show that you are negative and clean, but there would be another round of testing just to confirm that we are still as clean as we can be. We hope everybody comes out negative to the Covid,” he said.

The Super Eagles spokesman noted that the team is in high spirit as the new players are already blending well with the already established ones.

“It is all good in camp. It was a little harsh this morning in terms of weather because it’s drizzling. But we are trying to make the best of it. Everybody is in good shape, we are happy. We had two good sessions yesterday in training and everybody is fit and we are hoping for the best.

“The new ones have adjusted well and the sessions we’ve had shows that they are getting integrated quite well. They are fighting like the other boys on the pitch, giving their best, working hard. They are adjusting and there is no better time to blend new players than in friendly game which is a lot different from a competitive game. So they are adjusting well and it’s a privilege to be in this team.

“The coach told them that now you are here, you have to seize the opportunity, give your best so that you can stay here for a very long time. And I hope that they would do that and show that they are also relevant and stay in this team for a while,” Ibitoye said.