Nigeria’s senior men’s football head coach, Jose Peseiro, has revealed his final 25-man Super Eagles squad for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Ivory Coast, featuring eight debutants.
The AFCON debutants in the Super Eagles squad are goalkeepers Stanley Nwabili and Olorunleke Ojo, defenders Bright Osayi-Samuel, Bruno Onyemaechi, Calvin Bassey, and Raphael Onyedika, as well as Atalanta winger Ademola Lookman and Bayer Leverkusen’s Victor Boniface.
Notably absent from the squad are OGC Nice striker Terem Moffi and Bayer Leverkusen winger Nathan Tella, who have been dropped. Adebayo Adeleye and Kelechi Nwakali are also excluded from the final team list.
However, captain Ahmed Musa and his assistant William Troost-Ekong, who has been out of the team for months, will play in their third consecutive finals after making the squad for the tournament set to kick off on January 13.
The squad also includes four players from the English Premier League: Alex Iwobi, Calvin Bassey, and Frank Onyeka. Kenneth Omeruo, the only other player in the team apart from Musa who was in Nigeria’s 2013 squad, leads the defence alongside William Ekong.
Wilfred Ndidi, back in the lineup after missing the World Cup qualifying matches, is expected to feed the strike force alongside Alex Iwobi, Raphael Onyedika, Joe Ayodele-Aribo, and Frank Onyeka.
The forward line includes Ahmed Musa, Victor Osimhen, Kelechi Iheanacho, Moses Simon, Samuel Chukwueze, Victor Boniface, Sadiq Umar, and Ademola Lookman.
The entire Super Eagles squad is scheduled to depart from their respective bases on January 2, 2024, for a one-week training camp in Abu Dhabi, UAE. After the training camp, the team will return to Lagos before flying to the Ivorian capital, Abidjan, on January 10.
Nigeria, a three-time AFCON winner, will compete in Group A against hosts Ivory Coast, Guinea-Bissau, and Equatorial Guinea. The Super Eagles will kick off their campaign against Equatorial Guinea on January 14, followed by matches against Ivory Coast on January 18 and Guinea Bissau on January 22.
ALL THE INVITED PLAYERS:
Goalkeepers: Stanley Nwabili (Chippa United, South Africa); Francis Uzoho (Omonia FC, Cyprus); Olorunleke Ojo (Enyimba FC).
Defenders: Olaoluwa Aina (Nottingham Forest, England); Chidozie Awaziem (Boavista FC, Portugal); Bright Osayi-Samuel (Fenerbahce FC, Turkey); William Troost-Ekong (PAOK Salonika, Greece); Bruno Onyemaechi (Boavista FC, Portugal); Kenneth Omeruo (Kasimpasa FC, Turkey); Oluwasemilogo Ajayi (West Bromwich Albion, England); Calvin Bassey (Fulham FC, England); Zaidu Sanusi (FC Porto, Portugal).
Midfielders: Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City, England); Raphael Onyedika (Club Brugge, Belgium); Joe Ayodele-Aribo (Southampton FC, England); Frank Onyeka (Brentford FC, England); Alex Iwobi (Fulham FC, England).
Forwards: Ahmed Musa (Sivasspor K, Turkey); Victor Osimhen (Napoli SC, Italy); Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City, England); Sadiq Umar (Real Sociedad, Spain); Moses Simon (FC Nantes, France); Ademola Lookman (Atalanta FC, Italy); Samuel Chukwueze (AC Milan, Italy); Victor Boniface (Bayer Leverkusen, Germany).