Adepoju heads for glory

Adepoju (in green) was Onigbinde's surprise selection

By Osasu Obayiuwana BBC Sport Online

Adegboye Onigbinde says the most difficult part of picking Nigeria's World Cup team was breaking disappointing news to the players not making the trip to Korea and Japan.

"It was hard telling those who were not going because everyone put in their very best," the coach said. "But I'm very happy with the options that I will have in Japan.

Oruma wished the squad good luck

"Trimming the squad down was no more than the usual exercise. It's not the first time that we have had to do something like this."

Wilson Oruma, one of the players dropped from the squad, said he was sad but wished his colleagues the very best of luck.

"I am disappointed to be excluded from the World Cup squad," Oruma told BBC Online. But now is not the time to go into the details of what has happened.

"Right now, I want to put it all behind me, enjoy my holidays in Nigeria and report to my new club in France (Sochaux) for pre-season training."

In contrast, fortune smiled on Mutiu Adepoju , a surprise inclusion in Onigbinde's final 23.

Adepoju played at the 1994 and 1998 World Cup finals and is the most experienced player in the Nigerian team.

Sunday Oliseh is a good player and it would have been a plus to have him

Mutiu Adepoju

However, until his inclusion in the World Cup squad, Adepoju had not played international football since the 2000 African Nations Cup.

"It would be a great feeling to play in a third World Cup," he said.

Nicknamed "the headmaster" because he consistently scores with headers, he looks forward to Nigeria's opening game on 2 June in Ibaraki.

"Argentina's a good side but I think that we have a good team as well," Adepoju said.

Adepoju was disappointed with at least one controversial omission from the World Cup party.

"Sunday Oliseh is a good player and it would have been a plus to have him, but the decision was in the hands of those that picked the team."