Musa and Akpeyi recalled for Benin Republic and Lesotho Nations Cup qualifiers

SUPER Eagles head coach Gernot Rohr has named his 23-man squad for the forthcoming 2021 African Cup of Nations qualifiers against Lesotho and Benin Republic with recalls for skipper Ahmed Musa and goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi.

On Wednesday November 13, the Eagles will host the Squirrels of Benin at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo and then four days later, will fly to Maseru to play Lesotho’s Crocodiles on Sunday, November 17.  Yesterday, Coach Rohr published his list of 23 invitees, which included the recall of several players who have missed the last two friendlies through injury such as Musa and Kenneth Omeruo.

Over the last month, Nigeria played friendlies against Ukraine and Brazil and both players were absent, while for the last match, winger Samuel Kalu and midfielder Oghenekaro Etebo both missed out due to injury. They have all been recalled, as has goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi who was dropped for poor form but has been re-invited due to the injury to Francis Uzoho, who is expected to be out for the rest of the season.

Other than this, the squad remains largely unchanged with Granada midfielder Ramon Azeez retaining his spot in the squad after seeing action in the 1-1 draw with Brazil in Singapore. However, there is another opportunity for midfielder Mikel Agu, who has been recalled, mainly because Etebo is on standby as a result of his injury and is being monitored.

Also recalled is Torino fullback Ola Aina who missed the Brazil game through injury, while Porto rightback Tyronne Ebuehi, who is still not yet fully recovered has been dropped. Striker Peter Olayinka and centreback Leon Balogun join Etebo on the standby list.

Full squad

Goalkeepers

Daniel Akpeyi (Kaizer Chiefs, South Africa)

Ikechukwu Ezenwa (Heartland FC)

Maduka Okoye (Fortuna Dusseldorf, Germany)

Defenders

Kenneth Omeruo (CD Leganes, Spain)

Abdullahi Shehu (Bursaspor FC, Turkey)

Chigozie 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)

 Bryan Idowu (Lokomotiv Moscow, Russia)

Midfielders

Alexander Iwobi (Everton FC, England)

Mikel Agu (Vitoria Guimaraes, Portugal)

Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City, England)

Joseph Ayodele-Aribo (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland)

Ramon Azeez (Granada FC, Spain)

Forwards

Ahmed Musa (Al Nassr, Saudi Arabia)

Victor Osimhen (Lille OSC, France)

Moses Simon (FC Nantes, France)

Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal FC, Spain)

Paul Onuachu (KRC Genk, Belgium)

Emmanuel Dennis (Club Brugge, Belgium)

Samuel Kalu (Girondins Bordeaux, France)

Standby

Leon Balogun (Brighton & Hove Albion, England)

Peter Olayinka (SK Slavia Prague, Czech Republic)

Oghenekaro Etebo (Stoke City, England)