Super Eagles forward Ademola Lookman was an unused substitute as Atlético Madrid lost 2-1 at home to Barcelona on Sunday, a week before the Tanzania qualifiers.
Giuliano Simeone gave Atlético the lead in the 10th minute from a Julián Álvarez cross. Fermín López levelled on the stroke of half-time and won it in the 66th minute from a Lamine Yamal through ball, at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano.
The result leaves Atlético five points behind leaders Barcelona, with Real Madrid three clear of them. Lookman returns to national-team duty in Eric Chelle’s 24-man squad for the Tanzania double-header, with the first leg in Uyo on 13 November and the second on 17 November.
A season of rotation and waiting
Sunday was the latest chapter in a campaign Soccernet has followed closely, from being hooked at half-time to Diego Simeone’s public show of faith.
Analysis: why the Super Eagles may benefit
With Victor Osimhen injured and Kelechi Iheanacho left out, Chelle’s attack lacks a clear first-choice striker. Lookman and Moses Simon can work from the wings, and either can give the front line pace and a different kind of threat.
If Chelle picks a mobile front three for Uyo, Lookman is an obvious candidate to start on the left or through the middle. A player short of minutes at club level can arrive fresher, and the Tanzania games give him a chance to rebuild his rhythm in a Nigeria shirt.
Chelle has kept faith in him by naming him in the squad, and a start in Uyo on Friday 13 November would show how much the national team still counts on him.
