Ikechukwu Ezenwa: Before injury struck in the semi-final against Sudan, Ezenwa delivered a largely impeccable campaign for the home-based Eagles. He kept clean sheets against Rwanda and Libya, and made a series of outstanding stops to keep Nigeria in the contest against Angola in the quarter-final. Gernot Rohr stopped short of confirming Ezenwa would be his number one in Russia, but the Enyimba man will surely make the squad. He has experience of playing with the senior side, and only boosted his chances in Morocco.

Dele Ajiboye: One player who did his World Cup chances no harm in the CHAN was Ajiboye, even though he conceded four in the final. He will learn from that testing experience, and demonstrated against Sudan in the semi-final that he has the temperament for the big occasion. Goalkeeper has been a position of uncertainty for the national side under Rohr, and with places apparently there for the taking, Ajiboye has forced himself into the running. He’s a better bet than Daniel Akpeyi, isn’t he?

Gabriel Okechukwu: The powerful forward wasn’t initially included in Salisu Yusuf’s starting lineups in Morocco, but after breaking into the team, he kept his spot and made some valuable contributions. The most memorable was his extra-time winner against Angola—a stunning strike—but he also deserves credit for his winner against Sudan. The final may have passed him by, but if Okechukwu can hit form in the coming months, then he could well be in the reckoning…particularly considering some of the struggles of Nigeria’s strikers in Europe.

Osas Okoro: An attacking threat throughout from the right-back berth, Okoro’s offensive contribution made up for a few positional lapses at the back. He’s strong, and impressed consistently with his delivery—both from wide areas and set pieces—during the CHAN. There’s plenty of competition for both full-back berths, but with no one apart from Abdullahi Shehu standing out in recent fixtures, could Okoro make the cut in a backup capacity?

Stephen Eze

None

P.S. Enzemwa is in already

Who will they replace in the main team? There are many better players who won't still make the list.

No one escept ezenwa

Osas ke?