Rohr invites six new players for Cote d’Ivoire, Tunisia friendlies

By Nurudeen Obalola

SUPER Eagles head coach Gernot Rohr has called up a mixture of new faces and regulars in his 25-man squad for the friendly matches against Cote d’Ivoire and Tunisia, the Nigeria Football Federation announced on Monday.

Five other players are on standby.

The friendly games are scheduled for Austria on 9 October and 13 October.

New boys Frank Onyeka of FC Midtjylland, Zaidu Sanusi of FC Porto, Chidera Ejuke of CSKA Moscow, Slovakia-based goalkeeper Matthew Yakubu and 2019 Golden Eaglets captain Samson Tijani of  Samson TSV Hartberg in Austria join Ahmed Musa, Kenneth Omeruo, William Troost-Ekong, Alex Iwobi and Wilfred Ndidi for the games, which will be the Super Eagles’ first in 2020.

The new generation of Super Eagles stars like Napoli’s new striker Victor Osimhen, Villarreal forward Samuel Chukwueze, Fulham’s Ola Aina and goalkeeper Maduka Okoye are also included.

Glasgow Rangers midfielder Joe Aribo and Kaizers Chiefs goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi miss out due to injury, while Mikel Agu makes a return.

The squad is made up of three goalkeepers, eight defenders, five midfielders and nine forwards.
There are no players from the Nigeria Professional Football League in the squad. The league has been on break since the outbreak of COVID-19 in March.

The friendly games have been arranged by the NFF to prepare the Eagles for the next rounds of 2022 Africa  Cup of Nations qualifiers against Sierra Leone in November.     

SUPER EAGLES SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Dele Alampasu (FK Ventspils, Latvia); Matthew Yakubu (SKF Sered, Slovakia); Maduka Okoye (Sparta Rotterdam, The Netherlands).

Defenders: Kenneth Omeruo (CD Leganes, Spain); Leon Balogun (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland); Chidozie Awaziem (FC Boavista, Portugal); William Ekong (Udinese FC, Italy); Olaoluwa Aina (Fulham FC, England); Jamilu Collins (SC Padeborn 07, Germany); Oluwasemilogo Ajayi (West Bromwich Albion, England); Zaidu Sanusi (FC Porto, Portugal).
Midfielders: Mikel Agu (Vitoria Guimaraes, Portugal); Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City, England); Frank Onyeka (FC Midtjylland, Denmark); Oghenekaro Etebo (Galatasary SK, Turkey); Samson Tijani (TSV Hartberg, Austria).
Forwards: Ahmed Musa (Al Nassr, Saudi Arabia); Alex Iwobi (Everton FC, England); Victor Osimhen (SSC Napoli, Italy); Moses Simon (FC Nantes, France); Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal FC, Spain); Cyril Dessers (KRC Genk, Belgium); Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City, England); Samuel Kalu (Girondins Bordeaux, France); Chidera Ejuke (CSKA Moscow, Russia)
Standby: Abdullahi Shehu (Bursaspor, Turkey); Ramon Azeez (Granada CF, Spain); Joshua Maja (Girondins Bordeaux, France); Henry Onyekuru (AS Monaco, France); Tyronne Ebuehi (FC Twente, Netherlands)