Nottingham Forest boss reveals the bad part of international break as Aina, Awoniyi return 

Nottingham Forest's Portuguese football tactician Nuno Espírito Santo has suggested that Super Eagles duo Ola Aina and Taiwo Awoniyi have returned to England following the conclusion of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers for September. 

Awoniyi and Aina were among fourteen Nottingham Forest first teamers called up for international duty in September 2024.

The other players that went on international duty during the September international break were Morgan Gibbs-White, Neco Williams,Andrew Omobamidele, Anthony Elanga, Nikola Milenković, Matz Sels, Ibrahim Sangaré, Willy Boly, Chris Wood, Ramón Sosa, Eric da Silva Moreira and Elliot Anderson. 

Aina and Awoniyi experienced mixed fortunes during the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, with the right wing-back playing the full ninety minutes against Republic of Benin and Rwanda and the striker logging less than two minutes after coming off the bench in the stoppage time of the goalless draw with the Wasps. 

Nuno Espírito Santo emphasized that the challenging part of the international break is that the players have to be properly assessed after they return, factoring in long trips and inconsistent playing time.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference on Thursday before his side's meeting with Liverpool,  Nuno Espírito Santo old reporters: "This is what we have to assess tomorrow, all of them are here with the exception of Ramón Sosa who arrives this afternoon, but we are assessing.

"This is the bad part of the international break. When they return you have to assess them, long travels, some of them have played more or less minutes.

"We have one day to assess all of them and make the decision."

Aina, one of the first names on the team sheet for club and country, has started all the matches contested by Nottingham Forest in the new Premier League season, while Awoniyi has logged 33 minutes spread across three matches. 

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

Copyright ANS
All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from allnigeriasoccer.com