The Nigeria Football Federation on Friday, announced a 25-member squad of the Nigeria Football Team for the upcoming AFCON 2023 tournament. Manager Jose Peseiro would be pretty confident as all the team members have the ability to perform well in the upcoming tournament.
Ahmed Musa is the most experienced in this lot and has played 108 games for his national side and has made 14 appearances in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). He would be hoping to utilize his experience and to perform exceedingly well for the Nigeria football team.
The captain of the side is Victor Osimhen and he would be raring to come into the field and prove his mettle. Notably, the 25-year-old forward missed out on the previous edition of the AFCON because of an injury and Covid-19 and would be pretty excited for this tournament.
By the deadline on January 3rd, Peseiro had the option of selecting up to 27 players; nevertheless, he opted to omit more attacking talent, as Terem Moffi of Nice and Cyriel Dessers of Rangers were all left off the roster.
With 20 goals in 28 matches, skipper Osimhen is the leading goal-scorer of this Nigerian team. He had won the African Footballer of the Year 2023 for his exceptional performances.
Nigeria are slotted in Group A of AFCON 2023
The Super Eagles are pooled in Group A and will be locking horns with Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea and Guinea-Bissau. The top two sides get a direct qualification to the Round of 16 and the third side will get a possible chance to qualify based on the rankings of the other third-placed teams across all the groups.
Ivory Coast are the hosts and they would be looking to use the home advantage to their advantage.
Nigeria have won 3 gold medals, 4 silver medals and 8 bronze medals so far in the history of AFCON. They are the 4th best team in history and would be looking to win their 4th gold medal.
Egypt are the most successful side in the history of this competition, having won 7 gold medals. Senegal are the defending champions and had beaten Egypt in the finals in the penalty round in AFCON 2021.
The Super Eagles had lost to Tunisia, 0-1, in the Round of 16 in AFCON 2021 and would be looking to advance into the latter stages of this tournament in this edition in Ivory Coast.
Nigeria Squad for AFCON 2023
Goalkeepers: Stanley Nwabili (Chippa United, South Africa), Francis Uzoho (Omonia, Cyprus), Leke Ojo (Enyimba, Nigeria)
Defenders: William Troost-Ekong (PAOK, Greece), Bright Osayi-Samuel (Fenerbahce, Turkey), Ola Aina (Nottingham Forest, England), Zaidu Sanusi (Porto, Portugal), Bruno Onyemaechi (Boavista, Portugal), Semi Ajayi (West Bromwich Albion, England), Calvin Bassey (Fulham, England), Chidozie Awaziem (Boavista, Portugal), Kenneth Omeruo (Kasimpasa, Turkey)
Midfielders: Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City, England), Raphael Onyedika (Club Bruges, Belgium), Joe Aribo (Southampton, England), Frank Onyeka (Brentford, England), Alex Iwobi (Fulham, England)
Forwards: Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City, England), Samuel Chukwueze (AC Milan, Italy), Moses Simon (Nantes, France), Ademola Lookman (Atalanta, Italy), Victor Osimhen (Napoli, Italy), Victor Boniface (Bayer Leverkusen, Germany), Ahmed Musa (Sivasspor, Turkey), Sadiq Umar (Real Sociedad, Spain)
Also read: AFC Asian Cup 2023: South Korea Announce 26-Man Squad
