Eric Chelle, Super Eagles head coach, has named the final squad for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
The 28-player squad is a mixture of familiar stars and new
names as the Eagles prepare for the competition starting on December 21.
Several players included in the initial 54-player
provisional squad were culled from the list.
The biggest surprise in the final squad is the omission of
Maduka Okoye and the inclusion of Stanley Nwabali.
Okoye has returned to form for Udinese in recent months,
following his suspension for a match-fixing scandal. He was in a prime position
to replace Nwabali, who has been battling injuries, as the Eagles’ first-choice
goalkeeper.
On Monday, Vusimuzi Vilakazi, the head coach of Chippa
United, said Nwabali is currently dealing with injuries in an ankle and hand
and might not be fit to play at AFCON.
Victor Boniface, Tolu Arokodare and Kelechi Iheanacho are
also dropped while Paul Onuachu returns to the Super Eagles after a lengthy
spell out.
Ebenezer Akinsanmiro gets his first-ever call-up to the
team, and Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman, Samuel Chukwueze, Alex Iwobi, Moses
Simon, Calvin Bassey and Wilfred Ndidi also made the squad.
The Super Eagles will play Egypt in a practice match on
December 16, with players expected to arrive a day earlier.
The Eagles are in Group C of the tournament alongside
Tanzania, Tunisia and Uganda.
Nigeria will play Tanzania in their first match of the
competition on December 23 before facing Tunisia four days later. The team’s
final group game will be against Uganda on December 30.
28 PLAYERS IN FINAL SQUAD LIST OF NIGERIA FOR 35TH AFRICA
CUP OF NATIONS MOROCCO 2025
Goalkeepers: Stanley Nwabali (Chippa United, South Africa);
Amas Obasogie (Singida Blackstars, Tanzania);
Francis Uzoho (Omonia FC, Cyprus)
Defenders: Calvin Bassey (Fulham FC, England); Oluwasemilogo
Ajayi (Hull City, England); Bright Osayi-Samuel (Birmingham City, England);
Bruno Onyemaechi (Olympiakos, Greece); Chidozie Awaziem (Nantes FC, France);
Zaidu Sanusi (FC Porto, Portugal); Igoh Ogbu (Slavia Prague, Czech Republic);
Ryan Alebiosu (Blackburn Rovers, England)
Midfielders: Alex Iwobi (Fulham FC, England); Frank Onyeka
(Brentford FC, England); Wilfred Ndidi (Besiktas FC, Turkey); Raphael Onyedika
(Club Brugge, Belgium); Fisayo Dele-Bashiru (SS Lazio, Italy); Ebenezer
Akinsanmiro (Pisa SC, Italy); Usman Muhammed (Ironi Tiberias, Israel); Tochukwu
Nnadi (Zulte Waregem, Belgium)
Forwards: Ademola Lookman (Atalanta BC, Italy); Samuel
Chukwueze (Fulham FC, England); Victor Osimhen (Galatasaray FC, Turkey); Simon
Moses (Paris FC, France); Chidera Ejuke (Sevilla FC, Spain); Akor Adams
(Sevilla FC, Spain); Paul Onuachu (Trabzonspor AS, Turkey); Cyriel Dessers
(Panathinaikos FC, Greece); Salim Fago Lawal (NK Istra 1961 (Croatia)
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com