The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), through the Confederation of African Football (CAF), has confirmed the Super Eagles provisional squad for the African Cup of Nations as exclusively reported by ACLSports.
Your Sports Memo, www.aclsports.com had on Saturday, December 16, 2023 given a hint on the key talking points in Peseiro’s provisional list, highlighting the inclusion of Chaves midfielder Kelechi Nwakali and Sporting Lagos goalkeeper Christian Nwoke.
On Monday, the full list of players sent to CAF by coach Jose Peseiro was exclusively revealed on www.aclsports.com with a number of omissions and just a 40-man squad named.
Today, CAF via its official website, published the official provisional squads submitted by each participating country for next year’s continental showpiece just as earlier reported here – https://aclsports.com/aclsports-exclusive-nigerias-afcon-provisional-list/
Newly-crowned African Footballer of the Year Victor Osimhen leads the cast of the regular suspects which also includes Alex Iwobi, Samuel Chukwueze, Kelechi Iheanacho, Daddy Moses Simon and Odinaka Francis Uzoho.
Team captain Ahmed Musa and Kenneth Omeruo – the only two players in the team to have won the AFCON previously were also included in the provisional list in spite of Musa’s exclusion from the team’s last two international windows.
Only three players made it from the local scene; Christian Nwoke of Sporting Lagos, Ojo Olorunleke of Enyimba and Amas Obasogie of Bendel Insurance.
There’s also a category of zero to three caps players in the list which includes Belgium based players Alhassan Yusuf, Jordan Torunarigha and the other five goalkeepers invited aside Uzoho.
Peseiro has until January 3, 2024 – eleven days to Nigeria’s opening game against Equatorial Guinea – to release his final list of not more than twenty-seven (27) players for the tournament.
Nigeria are aiming for a fourth success at the continental showpiece and last won the tournament in 2013 in South Africa under the Late Stephen Keshi.
