FIFA has categorised Nigeria on the list of countries with one domestic league player in their squad for the Russia 2018 World Cup.
The selection of Enyimba FC goalkeeper, Ikechukwu Ezenwa, in Coach Gernot Rohr’s final 23-man list puts Nigeria in the category which also has Belgium, Switzerland and Iceland.
100 per cent of England’s players are based in their national league followed by Russia with 21 and 20 from Saudi Arabia.
Senegal and Sweden, on the other hand, didn’t pick a single player from their domestic league.
NewswatchNigeria checks revealed that Nigeria which has the youngest squad with an average age of 25 years is closely followed by France and England with an average age of 26 years.
First choice Eagles Goalkeeper Francis Uzoho is 19 which makes him the youngest member of the squad. Other youngsters going to the World Cup are Kylian Mbappe of France, Trent Alexander-Arnold (England), Achraf Hakimi(Morocco), Jose Luis Rodriguez(Panama), Moussa Wague (Senegal) and Australia’s Daniel Arzani who will be the youngest player.
Veteran Egyptian goalkeeper, Essam El-Hadary, at 45 will be the oldest to be between the sticks at the World Cup if fielded, while Mexico’s Rafael Marquez will be the oldest outfield player at 39.
A further check on players’ stats revealed that 200 out of the 736 players from the 32 teams have been to the World Cup before.
Of the 200 players, 186 were at Brazil 2014, 61 were at South Africa 2010, 21 were at Germany 2006 and Mexico’s Rafael Marquez was the only player in Korea/Japan, 16 years ago.
Meanwhile, findings on club representation revealed that 16 players made Manchester City the best-represented team in Russia, closely followed by Real Madrid (15), Barcelona (14), Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham Hotspur 12 each.
