Nigeria vs Ghana friendly cancelled due to London riots

Super Eagles Head Coach, Samson Siasia, has expressed his disappointment at the cancellation of Tuesday's international friendly match against Ghana Black Stars.

The friendly was due to be hosted at Watford FC's Vicarage Road stadium, but the club was forced to call off the game on the advise of the Hertforshire Constabulary.

Siasia and his players were left to contemplate the effects

"We are very disappointed that the game has been called off.

"We were looking forward to playing this game, and the players were also very prepared and confident despite the fact that we didn't have a full house and we had just one training session.

"I also spoke to the NFF officials and they are also disappointed that this game did not hold.

"But there is nothing anybody can do. The police have the final authority and if they say they cannot guarantee our security, then we have to take it like that."

Organisers are working hard to reschedule the game, with November being looked at as a possible date for the fixture.

However, Siasia is not losing any sleep over midfielder Dickson Etuhu's decision to make himself unavailable for selection.

Etuhu was handed a late call up to join the squad following withdrawals by several players, but declined, saying he did not wish to be considered for selection under Samson Siasia.

Asked about the decision at the pre-match press conference, Siasia did not seem overly concerned.

"We all know we had problems with visas for some players. And he is here in London so we asked him to come and be part of this team.

"He said no. I dont know what issues he has but that will be dealt with later."

Etuhu is said to be unhappy at having been ignored since Siasia took over, but his decision will cause little heartache for Siasia, who has a surfeit of midfielders higher up the pecking order than the Fulham man.

John Mikel Obi and Joel Obi have both locked down the central midfield roles, with Kalu Uche, Fengor Ogude and Nosa Igiebor all pushing hard to dislodge them.

Daily Independent

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