Football: Osimhen, Iwobi, Lookman included in Nigeria’s provisional squad for World Cup qualifiers
by Devesh Jaganath | by Devesh Jaganath
Chelle calls up big guns for must-win CAF World Cup qualifiers
Following an extremely disappointing African Nations Championship with the Super Eagles B, Eric Chelle is back to national senior team duty and has now revealed a provisional 31-man squad for Nigeria’s CAF World Cup qualifiers next week.
The Super Eagles’ World Cup hopes are currently hanging by a thread, with the team having only managed a single victory from their six matches so far (W1 D4 L1), which sees them sat fourth in the group, six points behind leaders South Africa.
Nigeria may yet be handed a lifeline with a final decision on whether Bafana Bafana may be docked three points for fielding an ineligible player still to be made, but they cannot afford to count on that coming to fruition and have to focus on winning their remaining matches.
The three-time African champions will face Rwanda on September 6 at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo before heading to the Free State Stadium in what could be their deciding match three days later to face South Africa. You can follow all the action live using our World Cup livescore tool.
Chelle has not taken any chances with his team selection, summoning all of his big guns from across the globe, including Victor Osimhen, Alex Iwobi, Ademola Lookman and Super Eagles first-team skipper William Troost-Ekong.
Nigeria have called up 15-year-old goalkeeper Ebenezer Harcourt!
Rangers striker Cyriel Dessers has also been summoned by the Super Eagles head coach following his impressive showing at the Unity Cup earlier this year, while the likes of Moses Simon, Ola Aina and Samuel Chukwueze are also set to feature.
Nigeria's provisional squad for 2026 WCQ
Goalkeepers: Stanley Nwabali (Chippa United), Amas Obasogie (Singida Blackstars), Adeleye Adebayo (Volos FC), Ebenezer Harcourt (Sporting FC)
Defenders: William Ekong (Al-Kholood), Calvin Bassey (Fulham), Olaoluwa Aina (Nottingham Forest), Bright Osayi-Samuel (Birmingham City), Bruno Onyemaechi (Olympiakos), Igoh Ogbu (Slavia Prague), Chidozie Awaziem (Nantes), Felix Agu (Werder Bremen), Benjamin Fredericks (Dender FC)
Midfielders: Alex Iwobi (Fulham), Frank Onyeka (Brentford), Alhassan Yusuf (New England Revolution), Wilfred Ndidi (Besiktas), Fisayo Dele-Bashiru (Lazio), Raphael Onyedika (Club Brugge), Christantus Uche (Getafe)
Forwards: Ademola Lookman (Atalanta), Samuel Chukwueze (AC Milan), Victor Osimhen (Galatasaray), Simon Moses (Paris FC), Victor Boniface (Bayer Leverkusen), Cyriel Dessers (Rangers), Sadiq Umar (Real Sociedad), Nathan Tella (Bayer Leverkusen), Tolu Arokodare (Genk), Terem Moffi (Nice), Adams Akor (Sevilla)
