Eric Chelle named a 23-man Super Eagles squad on Wednesday for Nigeria’s friendlies against Iran and Jordan in Antalya, Turkey, later this month, and the names missing from it said just as much as the ones on it.
Three fresh faces came in, but many familiar names did not make the cut, some for tactical reasons, some for disciplinary ones and at least one that has left fans genuinely puzzled.
In this piece, Footynaija.com brings you the five biggest omissions from Chelle’s March list.
5. Terem Moffi
The Porto striker has been in fine form since his January move from Nice, recently scoring in the Europa League against Stuttgart and getting his season back on track under Francesco Farioli.
The omission is not entirely surprising, given that Chelle has a settled attacking group, but Moffi’s resurgence makes it difficult to ignore. He was not part of the AFCON squad and appears to remain outside Chelle’s immediate plans despite everything he has produced since January.
4. Tolu Arokodare
This one is harder to explain. Arokodare has been one of the standout bright spots in what has been a dismal Wolves season, ranking third in the Premier League for aerial duel success rate behind only Erling Haaland and Benjamin Sesko.
He has shown resilience, work rate and a level of technical quality that has drawn admiring glances across European football. A call-up looked logical, but it did not come.
3. Ola Aina
The Nottingham Forest right-back missed the AFCON through injury and has been working his way back to full fitness since. He is now playing regularly again and was one of Chelle’s most trusted options in his preferred system.
His absence here appears to be purely precautionary, with Chelle not wanting to rush him back for friendlies. Bright Osayi-Samuel keeps the shirt for now.
2. Stanley Nwabali
The man who was Nigeria’s undisputed number one across two AFCONs has paid the price for leaving Chippa United without a new club in place. Chelle made his position on inactive players clear as far back as the last AFCON, when Terem Moffi was dropped for the same reason.
Nwabali chose to terminate his contract in South Africa without a destination sorted, and the consequence has arrived swiftly. Francis Uzoho inherits the gloves.
1. Victor Osimhen
No omission generated more conversation. The games are being played in Turkey, where Osimhen lives and trains with Galatasaray. He could, in theory, have walked to camp.
It is understood that the coach wanted to use the window to assess other attacking options, with Paul Onuachu and Akor Adams both in the squad. Whether this is a tactical reset or the beginning of a more complicated situation between Chelle and his most high-profile player remains to be seen.
