Super Eagles' Turkish camp swells ahead of Friday's friendly against Iranian national team

NIGERIA'S Super Eagles' camp in the Turkish city of Antalya is bubbling with as many as 21 players now in camp ahead of the four-nation friendly tournament that will kick off with Friday's friendly match against Iran.

After missing out on the World Cup inter-continental play-offs, Nigeria has been invited to participate in a four-nation invitational tournament taking place between March 27 and 31. This tournament, involving the national teams of Jordan, Iran and Costa Rica, is taking place in the Turkish city of Antalya, having been moved from the Jordanian capital Amman, due to the Middle East crisis.

Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle named a 23-man squad for the tournament and since yesterday, players have begun trickling in. Players in camp include the striking trio of Ademola Lookman, Akor Adams and Samuel Chukwueze, who are expected to spearhead the team’s first official training session later today.

Other players in camp include Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, Alex Iwobi, Emmanuel Fernandez, Yira Sor, Paul Onuachu, Philip Otele, Semi Ajayi, Moses Simon, Francis Uzoho, Bruno Onyemaechi, Bright Osayi-Samuel, Frank Onyeka, Adebayo Adeleye, Chidera Ejuke, Raphael Onyedika, Igoh Ogbu, Maduka Okoye and Zaidu Sanusi.

Only two more players are still being expected to join the squad and it is expected that Fulham defender Calvin Bassey and team captain Wilfred Ndidi, will arrive today. Nigeria's Super Eagles will take on Iran in their first friendly match on Friday, before facing Jordan in their second game on Tuesday, March 31.

Both fixtures are expected to provide the coaching crew with an opportunity to assess players and fine-tune the squad ahead of competitive matches later this year, which will include African Nations Cup qualifiers. With Nigeria missing out on the 2026 World Cup, this will be the most prestigious international tournament the Eagles will feature in this year.