The Super Eagles of Nigeria have been confirmed to play against 'El Tri' of Mexico in an international friendly game on Saturday, May 28 2022.
Samuel Chukwueze, Kelechi Iheanacho, Ademola Lookman and Wilfred Ndidi could all be unavailable for that game because of a strange scheduling issue.
Saturday, May 28 2022 is also the date set for the UEFA Champions League final, easily the biggest game in club football.
Nigeria's game against Mexico will clash with the 67th Champions League final set to be played at Stade De France which could mean the Super Eagles will have to play without their star players.
Samuel Chukwueze's Villarreal are already in the semifinals of the competition, one step away from the final with only Liverpool standing in their way.
Although it seems unlikely that Villareal will beat Liverpool on paper but recent form suggests otherwise as the Yellow Submarine have already knocked out Juventus and Bayern Munich in previous rounds, with Chukwueze scoring the decisive goal in the quarterfinals.
If it does happen that Villarreal beats Liverpool and advances to the final, Chukwueze would obviously not be able to play both games on the same day and will certainly not choose to play a friendly over the Champions League final.
Kelechi Iheanacho, Ademola Lookman and Wilfred Ndidi also face similar circumstances as they are in the UEFA Conference League semi-finals and could play in the final on the 25th if they can get past Roma.
Again, it is unlikely that these three players will represent Nigeria in a friendly game in America just three days after playing a European final.
Another Nigerian in the semifinal of this competition is Cyriel Dessers who will play in the semi-final for Feyenoord against Marseille and could be headed to the final with a win.
The Nigerians in the Europa League are less affected by this as the final is scheduled for Wednesday, May 18, 10 days before Nigeria's game against Mexico.
Leon Balogun, Calvin Bassey and Joe Aribo will face RB Leipzig in the Europa League semis and even if they win and advance to the final, there should be plenty of time to recover and join the national team in Texas.
It is odd and inexplicable that a Nigerian friendly game would be scheduled for the same day as the Champions League final whose date had been fixed months ago.
Even though it is just a friendly, the game could prove crucial for the Super Eagles' morale as it will be Nigeria's first match since missing out on the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.