Both Union Berlin’s Taiwo Awoniyi and Paderborn’s Jamilu Collins have been nominated for the Africa Cup. As a result, both Nigerians will miss their clubs.
For the time being, Union will have to do without their best goal scorer, the 24-year-old scored nine times in 17 games this season. Coach Urs Fischer had said the day after the Bochum game (1-0) before Christmas: “I wouldn’t begrudge the player, but it wouldn’t help us.” Awoniyi had made his debut for the Super Eagles under now sacked coach Gernot Rohr in October.
Left-back Collins, on the other hand, has already made 25 international appearances, featuring in 14 games for SCP this season.
The Africa Cup in Cameroon (9 January to 6 February 2022) was supposed to take place in early 2021 but was postponed by a year due to the Corona pandemic. Nigeria will face Egypt, Sudan and Guinea-Bissau in the group. The first match will be against Egypt on 11 January, while Union will kick off the second leg three days earlier at Bayer Leverkusen.
