Ugbade: Iheanacho had fitness problem in New Zealand

Flying Eagles assistant coach and former captain of the national team, Nduka Ugbade, has disclosed that Manchester City of England striker, Kelechi Iheanacho, was kept on the bench at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in New Zealand because he was not physically fit to.
The Under-17 World Cup Most Valuable Player started Nigeria’s first game of the competition against Brazil but never started another game as the Flying Eagles bowed out in the round of 16 following a truly dour defeat to Germany.
Ugbade explained that Iheanacho was a few paces behind most of his teammates at the World Cup. “There are no big names in our team. We gave players like Kelechi Iheanacho and Success Isaac the opportunity. Everybody in the team was treated like equals. If Kelechi is such a big name as many say he is, how come he is not playing in the first team at Manchester City?”
“Iheanacho came into the camp with just two days to our first match and that was not good enough for him to play all the matches. His level of fitness was not at par with the others and that was the main issue. People do not make decisions for us as regards whether or not Kelechi plays,” he said.
Iheanacho played in just two games (one as a substitute) in Nigeria’s campaign in New Zealand.