Rizespor's Okechukwu Appointed Nigeria U23 Captain, Kelechi Nwakali Named Assistant Captain

Published: March 19, 2019

Rizespor star Azubuike Okechukwu will lead the Nigeria U23 players onto the Stade du 7 Mars, Ben Gardane pitch when they tackle Libya in an U23 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Wednesday, allnigeriasoccer.com understands.

The central midfielder has the most caps for the Olympic Squad and coach Imama Amapakabo didn't think twice before selecting him as the captain of the squad.

Okechukwu captained the Dream Team VI in every single game they played at the 2015 U23 AFCON, with the exception of the semifinal against Senegal which he missed as a result of accumulated bookings.

Arsenal loanee Kelechi Nwakali has been named as assistant captain for the two internationals against Libya.

The Porto attacking midfielder is a player with excellent leadership qualities, having captained the 2015 U17 World Cup-winning Golden Eaglets and the Flying Eagles team that failed to qualify for the 2017 U20 World Cup.

Meanwhile, Bologna loanees Kingsley Michael and Orji Okonkwo, and Spezia's David Okereke have not yet reported for international duty as at 0902 hours on Tuesday, March 19.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel