By Eddie Akalonu

Despite the fact that  top players like Lionel Messi and others will not be part of the much hyped Nigeria/Argentina friendly on June 1 in Abuja, ex- international Sylvanus Okpalla has urged the Nigeria Football Association, NFA to go ahead with plans for the friendly game, saying the Super Eagles need such a game against one of the Worlds’ top playing nations.

“Yes, they have made their list known, Messi and some other top players are not coming but that does not matter. We can play without the presence of those big names. We need to play such a game because it is against Argentina, one of the best in the world, and they have some of the best players in the world outside Messi.

Anybody Argentina presents for the game is top quality and I can assure you that Argentina will not present a mediocre set of players. Any set of players they put forward in their national team is of high quality and it will serve our purpose more to honour the game for what we can gain from it in the current move to rebuild the national team,” Okpala said.

The former Enugu Rangers and Green Eagles mid-fielder agreed that commercially, the presence of a player in the mold of Messi and others of the Argentine squad would attract full crowd to the game.

“However since for their own reason they are not coming with such players as Messi, Milito and others, should well be to our benefit to study how they build their own team and play without the top stars, whereas we have always depended on same set of big names.”

“ We should play whoever they are presenting and try to learn from their way because they have too many players to pick from and may be it is also a ploy to try out how new players in their squad can play independent of the big names they have. Again, fans should not say because Messi won’t play and not turn up.

I think Argentina is a big name enough to draw big crowd and that’s my call to fans to show up and support the Eagles to make a good showing in that game because it’s going to be played right here on our soil.”
“ So, let’s not look at the game that way but prepare our own team to face them.

Besides, I would like to call on Siasia and the FA to make sure that we are ready for the game by presenting a formidable squad  for that game because Argentina will play with all seriousness.   I don’t think they will present a team that Nigeria will disgrace because it is a friendly match. Far from it. I think they will come to play Nigeria with the same zeal and power they had shown in past games with Nigeria and such attitude is what is going to make it an interesting encounter,” he insisted.