Eric Chelle has named his 23-man squad for Nigeria’s Super Eagles 2026 World Cup qualifying fixtures against Rwanda and Zimbabwe on March 21 and 25, 2025. 

The Super Eagles gaffer made some bold calls, deciding against the inclusion of some in-form and senior players who were initially named in the 39-man provisional squad list released last Tuesday. Notably absent is captain Ahmed Musa, whose exclusion from the team since AFCON 2023 continues. Also missing are Sevilla loanee Kelechi Iheanacho and Cyriel Dessers, who is currently in red-hot form for Rangers.

As expected, the duo of Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman are set to lead the Eagles’ line for the must-win qualifiers, while assistant captain William Troost-Ekong, Alex Iwobi, and Wilfred Ndidi retained their spots. Among the three Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) players included in the provisional list, Niger Tornadoes’ Papa Mustapha made the final cut, while Remo Stars goalkeeper Kayode Bankole also earned a call-up in the absence of Maduka Okoye who is just returning from injury with Udinese.

The 23 invited players will begin arriving in camp this weekend ahead of the Super Eagles’ first match of the window against Zimbabwe in Kigali. This will be Chelle’s first match in charge of the three-time African champions, and much hinges on securing a win as he begins the crucial task of reviving the Super Eagles’ 2026 World Cup hopes.

Super Eagles 23-Man Squad List for March’s Qualifiers

Goalkeepers

• Stanley Nwabali (Chippa United, South Africa)

• Amas Obasogie (Singida Black Stars, Tanzania)

• Kayode Bankole (Remo Stars, Nigeria)

Defenders

• William Troost-Ekong (Al Khalood, Saudi Arabia)

• Bright Osayi-Samuel (Fenerbahce, Turkey)

• Bruno Onyemaechi (Olympiacos, Greece)

• Calvin Bassey (Fulham, England)

• Ola Aina (Nottingham Forest, England)

• Igoh Ogbu (Slavia Prague, Czech Republic)

Midfielders

• Papa Daniel Mustapha (Niger Tornadoes, Nigeria)

• Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City, England)

• Raphael Onyedika (Club Brugge, Belgium)

• Alhassan Yusuf Abdullahi (New England Revolution, USA)

• Alex Iwobi (Fulham, England)

• Joseph Ayodele-Aribo (Southampton, England)

Forwards

• Samuel Chukwueze (AC Milan, Italy)

• Victor Osimhen (Galatasaray, Turkey)

• Ademola Lookman (Atalanta, Italy)

• Victor Boniface (Bayer Leverkusen, Germany)

• Moses Simon (Nantes, France)

• Sadiq Umar (Valencia, Spain)

• Nathan Tella (Bayer Leverkusen, Germany)

• Tolu Arokodare (KRC Genk, Belgium).