5 talking points from Super Eagles' 24-man squad for AFCON 2021 qualifiers against Sierra Leone

Gernot Rohr calls up 24 players for the games against Sierra Leone.




The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) on Wednesday, March 4, 2020, released Gernot Rohr’s Super Eagles squad list for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers against Sierra Leone in March.

Nigeria will host Sierra Leone on Friday, March 27, 2020, in Asaba and travel for the return fixture four days later in a doubleheader.

Goalkeepers: Daniel Akpeyi (Kaizer Chiefs, South Africa); Ikechukwu Ezenwa (Heartland FC); Maduka Okoye (Fortuna Dusseldorf, Germany)

Defenders: Kenneth Omeruo (CD Leganes, Spain); Leon Balogun (Wigan Athletic, England); Chidozie Awaziem (CD Leganes, Spain); William Ekong (Udinese FC, Italy); Olaoluwa Aina (Torino FC, Italy); Jamilu Collins (SC Padeborn 07, Germany); Oluwasemilogo Ajayi (West Bromwich Albion, England); Kingsley Ehizibue (FC Koln, Germany)

Midfielders: Abdullahi Shehu (Bursaspor FC, Turkey); Etebo Oghenekaro (Getafe FC, Spain); Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City, England); Joseph Ayodele-Aribo (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland); Ramon Azeez (Granada FC, Spain)

Forwards: Ahmed Musa (Al Nassr, Saudi Arabia); Alexander Iwobi (Everton FC, England); Victor Osimhen (Lille OSC, France); Moses Simon (FC Nantes, France); Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal FC, Spain); Cyril Dessers (Heracles Almelo, The Netherlands); Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City, England); Samuel Kalu (Girondins Bordeaux, France)


These are five talking points from the 24-man squad.

1. Iheanacho gets another chance after Leicester City turnaround

Getting dropped from the squad for AFCON 2019 must have ranked in the lowest moments of Kelechi Iheanacho’s career. Everyone saw it coming.

He wasn’t getting much game time at Leicester City as he struggled to make any sort of impact. He was brought back in for a friendly game but was dropped again for the subsequent games.

The 23-year-old has however turned his Leicester City career around with some important contributions to the team since December 2019.

The good run of form for the Foxes started with an assist and the winning goal in 2-1 win over Everton in December 2019. Since then, the 23-year-old has scored three goals in three games against Aston Villa, and also goals against West Ham and Brentford.

His good form has now been rewarded with a recall to the Super Eagles.

2. Nigeria get another foreign-born player


The Super Eagles of Nigeria in recent years have seen a number of foreign-born players make their debuts. The Super Eagles squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup had four players who were born in foreign countries excluding Alex Iwobi who had represented England in the youth stages. There were three in the squad for AFCON 2019 not including Iwobi again.

Since AFCON 2019, Rangers midfielder Joe Aribo has joined that fold which will now include Belgian-born Cyriel Dessers who has been called up for the qualifiers in March.

Dessers plays for Heracles Almelo and is the current highest goalscorer in the Dutch Eredivisie with 15 goals.

Born to a Belgian father and a Nigerian mother, the striker who has never played at any level for Belgium has chosen to represent his maternal side.

3. Debut call-up for Ehizibue





Another first-timer in the Super Eagles squad is Kingsley Ehizibue who plays for FC Koln in Germany. Born in Germany and raised in the Netherlands, Ehizubue plays as a right-back and will ease Gernot Rohr’s worries in that position.

He joins Dessers as another foreign-born player who has chosen to play for Nigeria and not their country of birth.

4. Super Eagles in good form



The doubleheader against Sierra Leone comes on the back of a good run for the Super Eagles. Since AFCON 2019, the Super Eagles have not lost in four games. In those four games, there were impressive 2-2 and 1-1 draws against Ukraine and Brazil respectively.

The two wins have come against Republic of Benin and Lesotho which put them on top of Group L of AFCON 2021 qualifiers.

5. No goalkeeper worries for Rohr



There will be no goalkeeper worries for Super Eagles boss Rohr who is without his first-choice Francis Uzoho.

The fantastic form of South Africa-based Daniel Akpeyi who plays for Kaizer Chiefs will give Rohr confidence ahead of the games. Akpeyi has been in good form for South African Premier Division leaders Chiefs.

Akpeyi’s masterclass in the Soweto derby on Saturday, February 29 was a confirmation of how good he has been in recent months.

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1. Iheanacho gets another chance after Leicester City turnaround

Getting dropped from the squad for AFCON 2019 must have ranked in the lowest moments of Kelechi Iheanacho’s career. Everyone saw it coming.

He wasn’t getting much game time at Leicester City as he struggled to make any sort of impact. He was brought back in for a friendly game but was dropped again for the subsequent games.

The 23-year-old has however turned his Leicester City career around with some important contributions to the team since December 2019.

The good run of form for the Foxes started with an assist and the winning goal in 2-1 win over Everton in December 2019. Since then, the 23-year-old has scored three goals in three games against Aston Villa, and also goals against West Ham and Brentford.

His good form has now been rewarded with a recall to the Super Eagles.

2. Nigeria get another foreign-born player


The Super Eagles of Nigeria in recent years have seen a number of foreign-born players make their debuts. The Super Eagles squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup had four players who were born in foreign countries excluding Alex Iwobi who had represented England in the youth stages. There were three in the squad for AFCON 2019 not including Iwobi again.

Since AFCON 2019, Rangers midfielder Joe Aribo has joined that fold which will now include Belgian-born Cyriel Dessers who has been called up for the qualifiers in March.

Dessers plays for Heracles Almelo and is the current highest goalscorer in the Dutch Eredivisie with 15 goals.

Born to a Belgian father and a Nigerian mother, the striker who has never played at any level for Belgium has chosen to represent his maternal side.

3. Debut call-up for Ehizibue

nother first-timer in the Super Eagles squad is Kingsley Ehizibue who plays for FC Koln in Germany. Born in Germany and raised in the Netherlands, Ehizubue plays as a right-back and will ease Gernot Rohr’s worries in that position.

He joins Dessers as another foreign-born player who has chosen to play for Nigeria and not their country of birth.

No goalkeeper worries for Rohr



There will be no goalkeeper worries for Super Eagles boss Rohr who is without his first-choice Francis Uzoho.

The fantastic form of South Africa-based Daniel Akpeyi who plays for Kaizer Chiefs will give Rohr confidence ahead of the games. Akpeyi has been in good form for South African Premier Division leaders Chiefs.

Akpeyi’s masterclass in the Soweto derby on Saturday, February 29 was a confirmation of how good he has been in recent months.

Super Eagles call-ups complete redemption arcs for Balogun, Iheanacho, Akpeyi

Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr has rewarded improved performances at club level with recalls ahead of the double-header with Sierra Leone this month
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Maiden call-ups for Heracles Almelo striker Cyriel Dessers and Koln defender Kingsley Ehizibue were no doubt the headline items in Nigeria's squad announcement on Wednesday.

Both have earned call-ups on the back of impressive performances at club level, and provide important options in key positions: the former as a reliable stand-in for first-choice centre-forward Victor Osimhen, and the latter as a possible starting right-back.

However, arguably the most heart-warming take-away from the 24-man selection is the redemption arc featuring three players: Kelechi Iheanacho, Daniel Akpeyi



Iheanacho saw his relevance within the national team dwindle in 2019, coming to a head with his exclusion from the final squad to the Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt. More hurtful than even that was Gernot Rohr calling into question his seriousness and dedication to the team, a kick up the backside that the naturally jocular forward needed.

Since then, a managerial change at club level and a renewed aptitude for graft has repaired his reputation to a great degree. A smattering of goals for Leicester has not hurt either, and though he was recalled during the previous international window (he missed out due to travel hiccups), March affords him the chance to formally make his return to the fold.



While Iheanacho must have wished he could have been in the squad for the Afcon, Akpeyi might have been forgiven for wishing he could have been somewhere else.

Surprisingly designated as first-choice on the eve of the tournament, he bore the brunt of the blame for the hammer blow that was Riyad Mahrez's late winner in the semi-final, and has been on a quest to rebuild his reputation.

His travails go back a little further, however.

In a 2017 friendly against Argentina, Akpeyi's error in panicking and picking the ball up outside his penalty area was widely panned and held up as indicative of a goalkeeper out of his depth. He was substituted at half-time, replaced by rookie Francis Uzoho, and did not start competitively for the Super Eagles until the Afcon.

A combination of inactivity at club level for Uzoho, and subsequently an injury in the friendly against Brazil in October, reopened the door to Akpeyi. His international showings since have been adequate, but tellingly there has been no furore over his inclusion this time around.

For one thing, his performances at club level have been truly outstanding. Keeping club legend Itumeleng Khune out of the Kaizer Chiefs side is no mean feat, but the fact that the experienced Bafana keeper holds no bitterness speaks volumes: Akpeyi is in a good moment, and deserves to remain between the sticks.

Daniel Akpeyi, Kaizer Chiefs, September 2019

His recent masterclass in the Soweto derby defeat of Orlando Pirates has brought many observers back home onside, some even grudgingly so. There will always be that patina of mistrust, but it's never been less visible.

Balogun has also had to reinvent himself, albeit under different circumstances.

His partnership with William Troost-Ekong was genuinely one of the best elements of Gernot Rohr's first two-and-half years in charge, the fabled Oyibo Wall keeping the backdoor shut against opposition attacks with a synergy that worked.

His transfer to Premier League side Brighton following the World Cup threw a spanner in the works, however. Never the quickest, and coming into a side that already had a settled centre-back pairing, Balogun struggled for minutes, but retained his starting spot in the Super Eagles.

Only on the eve of the Afcon did his place come under scrutiny, and his misstep in the 2-0 upset loss to Madagascar at the tournament, albeit in a dead rubber at the end of the Group Stage, gave Rohr the excuse to finally swing the axe.

The 31-year-old has seen his place go to, first, Kenneth Omeruo and then Semi Ajayi, and he has been left out of the last three squads altogether.

Abdalla Moustafa, Leon Balogun - Nigeria vs. Egypt

Key to his resurgence: the decision in the winter transfer window to take a step down – not easy to do at his age, it has to be said – and join Championship side Wigan Athletic on loan until the end of the season.

In the five matches he's played for the Latics, they have won and kept clean sheets in three, including victory at the weekend over league leaders West Bromwich Albion on the road.

That run has propelled Wigan out of the relegation zone, and although there is still plenty of football to be played, Balogun has already been instrumental in a third of their total clean sheet haul this season.

All three have rebounded spectacularly, overcoming periods of adversity and poor form to return to the national team picture.

Of the three, Akpeyi is likeliest to actually start against Sierra Leone, but whatever role Iheanacho and Balogun play, they would no doubt agree that the journey back to relevance has been well worth it.

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So guys how will you rate the super eagles




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