Nigeria’s Olympic Eagles coach Éric Chelle has named a 23-man squad for the two-legged second-round qualifying tie against the Democratic Republic of Congo in the race for a place at the 2027 Africa U23 Cup of Nations, Footynaija reports.
The squad comprises 16 foreign-based players and seven home-based professionals, with several young talents from European clubs earning invitations.
Benfica forward Peter Edokpolor, Brighton youngster Zadok Yohanna, Fulham midfielder Chibuzor Nwoko and Genk defender Christian Akpan are among the notable names.
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Norway-based duo Daniel Daga of Molde and Wilfred George of Kristiansund also made the squad, alongside Reims midfielder John Otomewo and Famalicão forward Umar Abubakar.
Rivers United goalkeeper Clinton Andy and defender Emmanuel Ochobi are included, while Ikorodu City duo Michael Atata and Aderemi Adeoye also earned call-ups.
However, Chelle will not be in charge of the team during the two matches because of his commitments with the senior Super Eagles.
The Malian coach is also preparing Nigeria’s Super Eagles for their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying double-header against Tanzania, which falls within the same period as the U23 fixtures.
Assistant coach Deniran Ortega will lead the Olympic Eagles, working alongside Ikorodu City manager Bright Ozebagbe.
Nigeria will travel to Lubumbashi for the first leg on Friday, November 13, at the Stade TP Mazembe. The match will be played behind closed doors for security reasons.
The return leg is scheduled for Tuesday, November 17, at the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne-Remo.
While Nigeria received a bye in the first qualifying round, DR Congo reached this stage by overturning a 1-0 first-leg defeat to beat Mauritania 2-0 in the return leg and win 2-1 on aggregate.
Nigeria’s last Olympic appearance came at Rio 2016, where the team won bronze. The Olympic Eagles missed out on qualification for Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024.
They must overcome DR Congo and win their final qualifying tie in March 2027 to reach the U23 AFCON in Egypt. Their next opponents will be either Burkina Faso or Zambia.
The tournament will determine which African teams secure places at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
FULL OLYMPICS EAGLES SQUAD
Goalkeepers
Samuel James — SJK FC, Finland
Clinton Andy — Rivers United
Michael Atata — Ikorodu City
Defenders
Christian Akpan — Genk FC, Belgium
Victory Akpe — FC Basel, Switzerland
Vince Osuji — Tromsø IL FC, Norway
Emmanuel Godwin — Pardubice FC, Czechia
Odinaka Alfred — Nasarawa United
Emmanuel Ochobi — Rivers United
Aliu Sugau — Barau FC
Midfielders
John Otomewo — Reims FC, France
Daniel Daga — Molde FC, Norway
Wilfred George — Kristiansund FC, Norway
Chibuzor Nwoko — Fulham FC, England
Aderemi Adeoye — Ikorodu City
Sadiq Saleh — FC Metta, Latvia
Victor Samuel — Pardubice FC, Czechia
Forwards
Peter Edokpolor — SL Benfica, Portugal
Sulaiman Sani — Saudi Arabia
Umar Abubakar — Famalicão, Portugal
Zadok Yohanna — Brighton, England
Abdullahi Umar — Hradec Králové, Czechia
Abdulmuiz Adeleke — Junior International
