The Super Eagles under the caretaker leadership of Salisu Yusuf has announced a 30-man shortlist for the upcoming international window.
The qualifiers for the African Cup of Nations begins in June and Nigeria has been drawn in Group A against Sierra Leone, Guinea Bissau, and Sao Tome and Principe/Mauritius.
The winner of each group will go straight to the AFCON tournament which will be held in Cote d'Ivoire in 2023 while the second place teams in each group will go on to a playoff round to determine their place in the tournament.
Nigeria have also been scheduled to play friendly matches with Mexico and Ecuador after failing to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The Super Eagles face El Tri of Mexico on May 29 and face La Tri of Ecuador on June 3.
The AFCON qualifiers begin on June 9, by which time the squad will be trimmed.
Many new faces have been called up, including eight players from the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) and some players based in Europe. The biggest news is the return of Cyriel Dessers to the side, who comes in place of Victor Osimhen.
Here is the full squad list:
Goalkeepers: Maduka Okoye (Sparta Rotterdam, The Netherlands); Adewale Adeyinka (Akwa United); Ojo Olorunleke (Enyimba FC)
Defenders: Olaoluwa Aina (Torino FC, Italy); Abdullahi Shehu (AC Omonia, Cyprus); Zaidu Sanusi (FC Porto, Portugal); William Ekong (Watford FC, England); Leon Balogun (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland); Isa Ali (Remo Stars); Chidozie Awaziem (Alanyaspor FC, Turkey); Oluwasemilogo Ajayi (West Bromwich Albion, England); Calvin Bassey (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland); Ibrahim Buhari (Plateau United)
Midfielders: Joseph Ayodele-Aribo (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland); Alex Iwobi (Everton FC, England); Oghenekaro Etebo (Watford FC, England); Chiamaka Madu (Rivers United); Babatunde Afeez Nosiru (Kwara United); Azubuike Okechukwu (Yeni Malatyaspor, Turkey); Samson Tijani (Red Bull Salzburg, Austria); Alhassan Yusuf (Royal Antwerp FC, Belgium)
Forwards: Ahmed Musa (Fatih Karagumruk, Turkey); Moses Simon (FC Nantes, France); Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal FC, Spain); Ademola Lookman (Leicester City, England); Sadiq Umar (UD Almeria, Spain); Emmanuel Dennis (Watford FC, England); Cyriel Dessers (Feyenoord FC, The Netherlands); Victor Mbaoma (Enyimba FC); Ishaq Rafiu (Rivers United).
This article was most recently revised and updated 3 years ago
