Nigeria squad announcement : Eight things to note on Super Eagles' 25-man roster vs Ghana

Published: March 04, 2022

The Nigeria Football Federation announced the Super Eagles squad list for the upcoming 2022 World Cup playoff matches against the Black Stars of Ghana with three goalkeepers, eight defenders, five midfielders and nine strikers making the cut.

Allnigeriasoccer.com's editorial staff brings you eight things to note on the roster.

1) As at Friday, March 4, 2022 the 25-player roster holds an average age of 25.8 years with six players aged 23 or younger. They are Maduka Okoye, Francis Uzoho, Calvin Bassey, Akinkunmi Amoo, Victor Osimhen and Samuel Chukwueze.

2) Including Odion Ighalo, seventeen of the invited players were part of the Super Eagles squad to the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations. Leon Balogun, Calvin Bassey, Oghenekaro Etebo, Akinkunmi Amoo, Victor Osimhen, Emmanuel Dennis and Ademola Lookman are the non-AFCON invitees.

3) Eight invited players were born in European countries : Okoye, Ajayi, Balogun, Ekong, Aina, Bassey, Aribo and Lookman

4) Watford, Leicester City and Glasgow Rangers have contributed the most players to the roster with three players each, more than one-third of the players called-up.

5) Five invitees have won the World Cup for underage teams : Uzoho (2013 U17), Iheanacho (2013 U17), Osimhen (2015 U17), Chukwueze (2015 U17) and Lookman (2017 U20 with England).

6) Nantes winger Moses Simon has made ten consecutive appearances for the Super Eagles, more than any other player on the roster.

7) FC Copenhagen new recruit, Akinkunmi Amoo, is in line to become the second player in the Golden Eaglets class of 2019 to earn a senior cap, after Red Bull Salzburg's Samson Tijani.

8) The squad features five Olympians in Etebo, Akpeyi, Troost-Ekong, Umar Sadiq and Shehu, who won bronze at the Rio Olympics in 2016.

Nigeria squad vs Ghana

Goalkeepers (3): Francis Uzoho (AC Omonia, Cyprus); Daniel Akpeyi (Kaizer Chiefs, South Africa); Maduka Okoye (Sparta Rotterdam, The Netherlands)

Defenders (8): Oluwasemilogo Ajayi (West Bromwich Albion, England); Kenneth Omeruo (CD Leganes, Spain); Leon Balogun (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland); William Ekong (Watford FC, England); Olaoluwa Aina (Torino FC, Italy); Calvin Bassey (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland); Abdullahi Shehu (AC Omonia, Cyprus); Zaidu Sanusi (FC Porto, Portugal)

Midfielders (5): Frank Onyeka (Brentford FC, England); Joseph Ayodele-Aribo (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland); Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City, England); Oghenekaro Etebo (Watford FC, England); Akinkunmi Amoo (FC Copenhagen, Denmark)

Forwards (9): Ahmed Musa (Fatih Karagumruk, Turkey); Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal FC, Spain); Victor Osimhen (Napoli FC, Italy); Moses Simon (FC Nantes, France); Sadiq Umar (UD Almeria, Spain); Odion Jude Ighalo (Al-Hilal FC, Saudi Arabia); Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City, England); Emmanuel Dennis (Watford FC, England); Ademola Lookman (Leicester City, England)

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

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