As the process to qualify for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations resumes, the Super Eagles of Nigeria are expected to square off against their West African neighbour, Guinea-Bissau.
Baciro Cande, the head coach of the African Wild Dogs, unveiled his 25-man squad prior to the two-game AFCON 2023 qualifying series against Nigeria.
In preparation for the match at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Super Eagles manager Jose Peseiro has also made the much-awaited 23-man team list public.
Yet the roster, which contains several players who shouldn't have been called up, only adds to the disappointment before the match.
Soccernet.ng will highlight a list of players who were unexpectedly selected for the Portuguese squad despite not deserving to be there.
Daniel Bameyi
The selection of the Flying Eagles' defender in Peseiro's 23-man list has been questioned, given the number of Nigerian players excelling both domestically and internationally.
The Nigerian defender accepted a position at right-back since he was unable to replace the centre defence pairing of Benjamin Fredrick and Abel Ogwuche, who had developed a close bond while he was suspended. Augustine Njoku, the player who he took his place, was selected for the CAF team for the competition.
The Portuguese coach can still replace him with the aforementioned players, who will unquestionably keep the flame alive at the senior level.
Semi Ajayi
The 2022–23 season has not seen the 29-year-old in his best form for West Brom. The British-Nigerian has only appeared in 13 of the Baggies' 37 championship games owing to a ligament injury that has prevented him from playing in 9 of the Throstles' games.
Since then, the former Arsenal player has lost his place in the starting lineup, and he hasn't played a complete 90 minutes since August of last year against Cardiff City.
As William Troost-Ekong is still recovering from the knock he suffered in Verona, some issues remain over Semi Ajayi's selection among the nation's skill pool.
Joe Aribo
While playing for Rangers FC, Joe Aribo was in top form; but, since joining the struggling Southampton team, he has not been.
The Nigerian player, who was Nathan Jones's backup for several games in October, lost favour with the team. In order to gauge his form, the attacking midfielder was also demoted to Southampton's U-23 team, although this has not been a great criterion for starting a team for a second-bottom side.
Aribo, who was brought in to improve the Saints' team, has not yet played in any of the past five matches despite working under new manager Ruben Selles.
It is ideal to call on those who truly merit the call after a standout performance rather than picking and choosing players who are struggling to the Nigerian national team roster for an AFCON qualifying.
Paul Onuachu
In the last hours of the January transfer window, the Nigerian attacker left Belgian club KRC Genk to sign with Southampton.
Previous to it, he had been in good goal-scoring form, scoring 16 goals in the Jupiler Pro League and taking the top spot in the scoring charts.
Yet Paul's chances of making Selles' starting lineup have been slim after he failed to establish himself in his first four outings.
Chuba Akpom, who is currently tearing up the English league on the other end, or Victor Boniface, whose performance earned him the Europa League player of the week award ahead of some European stars, would have been the best candidates to fill his void with his six games without a goal in the Premier League.
Ahmed Musa
Ahmed Musa has 106 caps for the Nigerian Super Eagles since 2010, therefore it is questionable that he will still be on the team given the number of up-and-coming players competing for spots.
In addition to this, it should be noted that the Super Eagles forward is not a regular starter for Sivasspor of the Süper Lig, where he has only appeared in 15 matches without scoring.
There are certain new talents that need to be taken into consideration if the former Venezuelan manager hopes to return the Super Eagles to winning ways and assist the team win matches and titles.
u had 5 players… i include ndidi ihaenacho
ndidi has not made any spectacular move since he came back from injury.. he wil quickly pass the ball to the next player in front of him ..
ihaenacho is like not getting the stamina to hold the ball . he is found wanting falling with ease .
moses Simon lack urgency .
and the last point is who is the team noba 10.
again in case uzoho get injury who wil take charge of the pole ..
if I m guinea Bissau coach I wil dedicate a man to take out uzoho in the game to get eagles weakened from the back ..
this is just a team without a bench.
Maybe the coach thought it is a friendly game.
It’s very Annoying with the way player’s are being invited there lots of players on form but those that needed to be invited should have been invited not just bring players in on sentiment . Aribo has not been playing and has lost form drastically, Onuachu made the worst decision on joining the saints a struggling team on relegation all because he wants to play in the EPL he could have stayed in the Belgium league and win the league also become the highest goal scorer for the season but now he is going straight to the championship to struggle it’s really a shame. And also the Bame guy of the flying eagles what is he doing there ? Ahmed Musa what is he doing there, Wilfred Ndidi is not on top form yet he should have been allowed to pick form. In form players like Victor Boniface midfielderOnyedika Raphael , Also what is Semi Ajayi doing on the list not quit long he came back from injury and has not been a regular .there lots of players on form right now yea everyone can not be called upon at the same time but one thing is sure bench wormers and players that are just coming back from injuri should be dropped. , should have even boosted the Confidence of the Orban guy in Belgium by inviting him. we need to get it right.
Whoever picks the list does not know what he is doing. How can he left quality and skillful players for bench warmers? Onuchu, Aribo, Bemaiyi, Muse, Ndidi, Ajayi. should not be part of this list.
that exist are Calvin Bassey, Zaidu Sanusi, Terem Moffi, Moses Simon and Victor Osimhen. The rest needs a break for now and any smart coach should start building new team around those 5 players instead of mixing productive with lifeless players. 2024 will be another failure year for the eagles if we continue with same Sport director and current goal keeper trainers.” A word is enough for the wise”.
there is nothing to write home about on this eagles players invited by this man.
Nigeria is too big to be used as a launching platform to sell or to resuscitate players who are always on the bench with Thier clubs.
How can he be inviting same old players who have nothing to offer
while good boys are there .
please nff taks action now .this was how we lost our on the world cup quaifiers
When is the match taking place?
If we really want to be great in Soccer, we must start everything about our football from home. The head coach must be a Nigerian. There are many of them there who can train and manage the team to success. The Nigerian coach knows the players, their psychology, strength and physicality more than any foreign coach. The idea of thinking that our coaches are inferior to their foreign counterpart must be jettisoned immediately.
Many Nigerian players are in European leagues doing well and playing with those players who win top competitions as well as the world cup for their clubs or countries. Why do our players not do well in big competitions when playing for Nigeria?
The foreign coach we always hire does not know their psychology, mentality and physicality. Our strength lies in speed and physicality. So, we must build our playing style on these assets. Give a Nigerian coach the support and the right atmosphere to handle the players without undue interference and we shall all see how the players will reach great heights. He knows our best assets in sports more than any foreign coach.
No foreign coach will win the world cup for Nigeria. Only a Nigerian coach can do this. Do not think that I’m routing for an indigenous coach. I’m not. I came to this conclusion after the last world cup.