December 25, (THEWILL) – Augustine Eguavoen, Nigeria’s interim coach for the senior men’s national football team, has named his 28-man team for the country’s TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations, Cameroon 2021 campaign, which includes Al Shabab’s Odion Ighalo and Napoli’s Victor Osimhen.
Midfielder Wilfred Ndidi, who plays for Leicester City alongside colleague and striker Kelechi Iheanacho, and Watford duo William Troost Ekong and Emmanuel Dennis are also in the squad.
Ahmed Musa, Nigeria’s most capped player of all time, and Brentford’s Frank Onyeka made the roster, although Venezia’s Tyronne Ebuehi was left off the backline.
Aside from the eye-catching inclusions of Orlando Pirates’ Olisa Ndah and SD Huesca’s Kelechi Nwakali, Almeria’s Sadiq Umar and Union Berlin’s Taiwo Awoniyi were also surprise additions to the assault, earning their spots at the cost of injured Genk’s Paul Onuachu and Bordeaux’s Samuel Kalu.
As three-time African champions, Nigeria is competing in her 19th AFCON and will be aiming for a fourth title after finishing third in the competition’s last edition, which was held in Egypt.
The Super Eagles are set to begin their camp preparations with invited players on December 29th, 2021 in Abuja, before being joined by UK-based stars on January 3rd, 2022 in the nation’s federal capital.
The team will begin their campaign on January 11 against Egypt, a seven-time continental champions, before facing Sudan four days later in the second group tie. They will finish the group stage in Garoua against Guinea Bissau.
The full squad list includes:
Goalkeepers:
Francis Uzoho (AC Omonia, Cyprus); John Noble (Enyimba FC); Daniel Akpeyi (Kaizer Chiefs, South Africa); Maduka Okoye (Sparta Rotterdam, Netherlands)
Defenders:
Chidozie Awaziem (Alanyaspor FC, Turkey); Kenneth Omeruo (CD Leganes, Spain); Leon Balogun (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland); William Troost-Ekong (Watford FC, England); Olaoluwa Aina (Torino FC, Italy); Jamilu Collins (SC Padeborn 07, Germany); Abdullahi Shehu (AC Omonia, Cyprus); Zaidu Sanusi (FC Porto, Portugal); Olisa Ndah (Orlando Pirates, South Africa)
Midfielders:
Frank Onyeka (Brentford FC, England); Joseph Ayodele-Aribo (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland); Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City, England); Chidera Ejuke (CSKA Moscow, Russia); Kelechi Nwakali (SD Huesca, Spain)
Forwards:
Ahmed Musa (Fatih Karagumruk, Turkey); Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal FC, Spain); Victor Osimhen (Napoli FC, Italy); Moses Simon (FC Nantes, France); Sadiq Umar (UD Almeria, Spain); Taiwo Awoniyi (Union Berlin, Germany); Odion Jude Ighalo (Al-Shabab Riyadh, Saudi Arabia); Alex Iwobi (Everton FC, England); Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City, England); Emmanuel Dennis (Watford FC, England)
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
