Nigeria name squad for FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers CAF Play-Offs
Nigeria on Saturday finalised their squad for their FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers CAF Play-Offs in Morocco as coach Eric Chelle named a 24-man ensemble for the Super Eagles’ bid next week to continue their quest for a place at next year’s finals in North America.
Nigeria take on Gabon in Rabat on Thursday and if they win that match progress to the African playoff final against either Cameroon or the Democratic Republic of Congo on November 16, also in the Moroccan capital.
The playoffs offer a further opportunity for an African team to qualify for the World Cup but the winner will have to get past teams from other continents in another playoff series in March.
Chelle has tweaked the selection from last month’s wins over Lesotho and Benin which saw Nigeria power their way to second behind South Africa in their group and grab a playoff slot as one of the four best runners-up across the nine qualifying groups.
Italian-based goalkeeper Maduka Okoye returns as goalkeeper cover with Chidozie Awaziem restored to the squad in defence, Belgian-based Raphael Onyedika returns among the midfielders as does striker Chidera Ejuke.
Out of the squad from last month’s qualifiers go Felix Agu, Terem Moffi and Christantus Uche.
Nigeria are the top-ranked of the four teams involved in the playoffs.
Nigeria Squad:
Goalkeepers: Stanley Nwabali (Chippa United, South Africa), Amas Obasogie (Singida Blackstars, Tanzania), Maduka Okoye (Udinese, Italy)
Defenders: Chidozie Awaziem (Nantes, France), Semi Ajayi (Hull City, England), Calvin Bassey (Fulham, England), Benjamin Fredericks (Dender, Belgium), Bruno Onyemaechi (Olympiakos, Greece), Bright Osayi-Samuel (Birmingham City, England), Zaidu Sanusi (FC Porto, Portugal), William Troost-Ekong (Al-Kholood, Saudi Arabia)
Midfielders: Alex Iwobi (Fulham, England), Wilfred Ndidi (Besiktas, Turkey), Raphael Onyedika (Club Brugge, Belgium), Frank Onyeka (Brentford, England), Alhassan Yusuf (New England Revolution, USA)
Forwards: Akor Adams (Sevilla, Spain), Tolu Arokodare (Wolverhampton Wanderers, England), Samuel Chukwueze (Fulham, England), Chidera Ejuke (Sevilla, Spain), Ademola Lookman (Atalanta, Italy), Olakunle Olusegun (Nizhny Novgorod, Russia), Victor Osimhen (Galatasaray, Turkey), Moses Simon (Paris FC, France).