The International Centre for Sports Studies released on Wednesday an Observatory paper, which indicated that the Senior national team of Nigeria, the Super Eagles is the youngest average squad in international matches in 2015.
This suggests that team's current discouraging position as 66th best in the world stands a chance to be improved upon if gaffer Sunday Oliseh is able to utilize and sustain the group to ensure that they get better with age and more playing time. Or should he be concerned that he is overlooking experience?
The report coming out of Neuchâtel, Switzerland revealed that the average age of the Super Eagles was 24.7 and that players aged 22 or less featured 19 per cent of the time for the team. It also indicated that Nigeria used players not born in the country for 14.6 per cent of the matches played. [ Alex Iwobi (below) and Carl Ikeme].
Meanwhile Ahmed Musa, the new Eagles captain was the most used player in the team – he played 544 minutes for the Eagles and scored two goals.
Lads that helped to achieve this feat are Moses Simon, Onyinye Ndidi and Kelechi Iheanacho among others, and if not for the late inclusion of Obafemi Martins aged 31 the average age could have been even lower.
Other interesting observations with regards to age were that Romania featured the youngest player – defender Cristian Manea, who made his debut at 17.
Meanwhile, the oldest player featured was Hungary’s Gábor Király [the pyjama bottom-wearing goalkeeper] at 39 (below) who helped his country qualify for the European Championships.
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