The Super Eagles under the leadership of Jose Peseiro have announced a 27-man shortlist for the upcoming African Cup of Nations qualifiers.
The qualifiers for the 2023 African Cup of Nations which will be hosted by Cote d'Ivoire begins in June and Nigeria has been drawn in Group A against Sierra Leone, Guinea Bissau, and Sao Tome and Principe.
The winner of each group will go straight to the AFCON tournament while the second place teams in each group will compete in a playoff round for the remaining spots.
Nigeria, the strongest of the four Group A teams and the third highest ranked team in Africa, will be looking to finish top of the group. They will be looking to get over the disappointment of the two friendly match losses against Mexico and Ecuador, which happened to be Peseiro's first matches in charge.
The AFCON qualifiers begin on June 9 when Nigeria face Sierra Leone in Abuja, before they travel to Marrakech, Morocco on June 13 to take on Sao Tome.
The qualifiers will resume in September during the next international break. And Peseiro will want to have a solid footing at the top of the table, having declared that his mission is to rule Africa with the Super Eagles.
Two of the eight players from the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) who were called up to the initial 30-man friendlies squad were retained after the squad was trimmed down.
The Portuguese manager also called up returnees but left out a few players who Nigerians thought were shoo-ins for the side.
Here is the full squad list to face Sierra Leone and Sao Tome in the coming weeks
Goalkeepers: Francis Uzoho (AC Omonia, Cyprus); Adewale Adeyinka (Akwa United); Adebayo Adeleye (Hapoel Jerusalem, Israel).
Defenders: Olaoluwa Aina (Torino FC, Italy); William Troost-Ekong (Watford FC, England); Abdullahi Shehu (AC Omonia, Cyprus); Zaidu Sanusi (FC Porto, Portugal); Chidozie Awaziem (Alanyaspor FC, Turkey); Oluwasemilogo Ajayi (West Bromwich Albion, England); Calvin Bassey (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland); Sani Faisal (Katsina United); Leon Balogun (free agent); Kenneth Omeruo (CD Leganes, Spain).
Midfielders: Joseph Ayodele-Aribo (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland); Alex Iwobi (Everton FC, England); Oghenekaro Etebo (Watford FC, England); Innocent Bonke (FC Lorient, France); Frank Onyeka (Brentford FC, England).
Forwards: Ahmed Musa (Fatih Karagumruk, Turkey); Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal CF, Spain); Moses Simon (FC Nantes, France); Victor Osimhen (SSC Napoli, Italy); Cyriel Dessers (Feyenoord FC, The Netherlands); Ademola Lookman (Leicester City, England); Sadiq Umar (UD Almeria, Spain); Terem Moffi (FC Lorient, France).
This article was most recently revised and updated 3 years ago
