The duo of Victor Moses and John Obi Mikel were missing in the Super Eagles squad that departed Calabar ahead of Tuesday’s international friendly against the Stallions of Burkina Faso.
The Eagles, who checked out of the Transcorp Hotel some minutes before noon on Sunday are expected to travel to Kaduna en-route Abuja for the friendly, which is a repeat pairing of the Africa Cup of Nations final in which the Eagles edged out their West African neighbours 1-0 to lift the continent’s top football trophy.
While no official reason was given for the absence of Mikel and Moses from the travelling roster to Kadauna, Nigerian Telegraph gathered that the two, who were outstanding in Saturday’s World Cup qualifying match where the Eagles defeated the Flames of Malawi 2-0, suffered slight knocks in the course of the game.
Over the weekend in Calabar, Mikel was voted Man of the Match and was handed a $5,000 cheque by Tom Tom, one of the sponsors of the national team, to appreciate his contribution to the victory that takes Nigeria a step closer to making it to the Brazil 2014 World Cup.
Also Moses sealed the victory for Nigeria from the penalty spot in the 51st minute to ensure Nigeria finished top of group F with 12 points but Kaduna fans will not have the privilege of seeing the two super stars in action on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Burkina Faso team expected in the country tomorrow, are also basking in the euphoria of making it to the final phase of the World Cup qualifiers as the Africa Cup of Nations silver medallist booked their ticket to the final round of the qualifiers following a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Gabon also this weekend.
The last time the Eagles played a match in Kaduna was the first leg of the CHAN qualifiers against Ivory Coast, in which they handsomely emerged 4-1 winners.
http://telegraphng.com/2013/09/moses-mikel-miss-burkina-faso-friendly/