{"id":826914,"date":"2025-02-14T10:11:50","date_gmt":"2025-02-14T16:11:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/14\/go-hard-or-go-home-why-super-eagles-might-not-tackle-34th-ranked-russia-in-june\/"},"modified":"2025-02-14T10:11:50","modified_gmt":"2025-02-14T16:11:50","slug":"go-hard-or-go-home-why-super-eagles-might-not-tackle-34th-ranked-russia-in-june","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/14\/go-hard-or-go-home-why-super-eagles-might-not-tackle-34th-ranked-russia-in-june\/","title":{"rendered":"Go hard or go home! Why Super Eagles might not tackle 34th-ranked\u00a0Russia\u00a0in\u00a0June"},"content":{"rendered":"

Soccer <\/p>\n

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Recent reports in the Nigerian media have suggested that the Super Eagles could face Russia in an international friendly in June, Soccernet.ng<\/a> understands.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

However, despite the multiple reports surrounding this potential clash, a few circumstances could prevent the fixture from happening.<\/p>\n

One of these remains FIFA\u2019s suspension of Russia from international football due to the country\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n

FIFA Ban on Russia<\/h4>\n

Since 2022, Russian teams have been barred from participating in FIFA-sanctioned tournaments<\/a>, including the World Cup qualifiers.<\/p>\n

While friendly matches are not explicitly covered under FIFA\u2019s ban, most national teams have avoided scheduling games against Russia to align with the international football governing body\u2019s stance.<\/p>\n

Super Eagles Travel Plans<\/h4>\n

Another challenge is the logistics of the match. The game is reportedly set to take place in Moscow, which presents visa and travel complications for the Super Eagles.<\/p>\n

Many airlines have limited operations to Russia due to ongoing sanctions, and arranging smooth travel for the Nigerian team and officials could prove difficult.<\/p>\n

\"Soccer<\/a>
Calvin Bassey, Ademola Lookman and Ola Aina and others during a Super Eagles team walk [Photo credit\/Imago]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Furthermore, player availability could be an issue. Many Super Eagles stars play in European leagues, and their clubs might be reluctant to release them for a match in a politically sensitive location.<\/p>\n

The risk of injuries and other unforeseen disruptions could also deter the NFF from going ahead with the game.<\/p>\n

Russia vs. Nigeria: Likely to Be Called Off?<\/h4>\n

While the 34th-ranked<\/a> Russian side has reportedly lined up friendlies against Zambia and Belarus, the Nigeria fixture remains uncertain. FIFA\u2019s ban, among other things, could all contribute to the Super Eagles pulling out of the proposed match.<\/p>\n

\"Soccer<\/a>
Super Eagles star linked to Al Nassr (Photo credit: Imago)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Unless the NFF receives clear approval from FIFA and relevant stakeholders, the friendly remains unlikely to take place.<\/p>\n

Although no official statement has been made on this by the Nigerian football body, all eyes are on Nigeria\u2019s 2026 World Cup qualifying clashes against Rwanda and Zimbabwe in March.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"Soccer\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\tAyomide Oguntimehin\t\t\t\t<\/a>
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\n\t\t\t\tAyomide Oguntimehin is a CAF-accredited sports journalist and Editor at Soccernet.ng, with a proven track record in conducting interviews with Super Eagles stars such as William Troost-Ekong, Taiwo Awoniyi, Bright Osayi-Samuel, Ademola Lookman, and many others. He has also made a significant impact in breaking transfer news stories.<\/p>\n

Grounded in video editing, video journalism, social media management, and content strategy, Ayomide brings a wealth of expertise to his work.\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>Ayomide Oguntimehin<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Soccer Recent reports in the Nigerian media have suggested that the Super Eagles could face Russia in an international friendly in June, Soccernet.ng understands.\u00a0 However, despite the multiple reports surrounding this potential clash, a few circumstances could prevent the fixture from happening. One of these remains FIFA\u2019s suspension of Russia from international football due to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":826915,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3577,2005,4578],"tags":[7956,6323],"class_list":{"0":"post-826914","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-eagles","8":"category-soccer","9":"category-super","10":"tag-eagles","11":"tag-super"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/826914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=826914"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/826914\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/826915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=826914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=826914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=826914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}