Speaking to the local press on Friday at the Super Eagles hotel, manager Gernot Rohr has defended the decision not to invite Arsenal midfielder Kelechi Nwakali and former Barcelona trialist Usman Mohammed to the Nigeria team ahead of the 2018 World Cup.

The German has come under fire from the Super Eagles faithful after the two players scored brilliant goals in a postseason friendly against Atlético de Madrid on Tuesday.

''There are no regrets because Atletico played their second team and it was a holiday game for them,'' Rohr stated.

''The list of 30 is a good one with very interesting players. They did so well to qualify us for the World Cup from a very difficult group.

''And it would not be normal to have players from the B team (going to the World Cup).''

Meanwhile, only 24 players will travel to London in an official capacity for the match with England, with Rohr revealing that five players will be axed from the World Cup roster after the friendly against Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday.

As everyone is aware, Chelsea star Victor Moses will not be in the group of players axed as he was granted permission to join up with the team upon their arrival in the English capital.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel