Izuchukwu Okosi
Chippa United goalkeeper, Stanley Nwabili and Enyimba’s Olorunleke Ojo are among the two goalkeepers included in Nigeria’s 25-man squad announced on Friday by the Nigeria Football Federation for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire.
Ojo is the only home-based player named to the squad.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelHead coach Jose Peseiro elected to go with 25 players for the tournament instead of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) giving the 24 participating countries the privilege of attending the tournament with 27 players.
In a meeting with the leadership of the Nigeria Football Federation in Abuja, Peseiro insisted that 25 players instead of 27, is the number that he could manage.
Some Nigerian fans are livid by the decision of Peseiro not to take advantage of the numerical strength offered by CAF.
Nigeria’s final roster for the 33rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations aside from the goalkeeping department is made up of usual suspects with the captain of the team, Ahmed Musa, making a return to the fold after missing the recent 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Zimbabwe due to injury.
Kasimpasa of Turkey defender Kenneth Omeruo who was part of the 2013 Super Eagles squad that won the tournament in that year when South Africa hosted the continent made the cut as well as William Troost Ekong who makes a return after missing in recent games.
The players are expected to resume camping in Abu Dhabi on January 2 ahead of the tournament.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
