Russia vs Nigeria: Karpin warns Super Eagles are dangerous without Osimhen Lookman

Russia head coach Valery Karpin anticipates a challenging match against the Super Eagles in their international friendly.

Despite the absence of key players Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman, Karpin belives the Super Eagles are a formidable opponent

The two nations will meet in a high-profile friendly at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium.

This will be the first meeting ever between the two countries.

The coach from Russia promptly noted that his own team is also missing several important players.

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Speaking to Komsomolskaya Pravda, Karpin said, “It doesn’t change our preparation at all. Without Osimhen and Lookman, there will be other equally good footballers

“Now there are many media outlets, bloggers, internet broadcasts… They write: “Nigeria is bringing a second team” only because two leaders didn’t come.”

“Then we can also say that we are bringing a second team. We don’t have Golovin, we don’t have Zakharyan. Golovin, Zakharyan, Barinov, Diveev were not in the match with Zambia.

This comes after Super Eagles stars Cyriel Dessers and Moses Simon celebrated the Unity Cup after scoring at the tournament.

Nigeria takes on Russia in an international friendly match scheduled for Friday, June 6, 2025.