When Nigeria’s Super Eagles’ 28-man squad for AFCON 2025 appeared quietly on social media late Thursday night, it felt less like a national announcement and more like a leaked memo.
No press briefing, no media session, no opportunity for the head coach, Eric Chelle, to defend or explain his choices. Just a list: unsigned, unexplained, and unaccompanied by the clarity Nigerians have come to expect before a major tournament.
In the absence of transparency, speculation rushed in to fill the gap. Supporters are asking questions the federation has not addressed. Analysts are picking apart omissions that defy football logic. And for a nation that treats football as its most unifying language, this squad list has triggered more debate than celebration.
Was Chelle pressured? Is he taking bold risks or committing avoidable errors? Are some of the biggest names omitted for tactical reasons, disciplinary reasons, or political reasons? And which of his decisions actually strengthen the team ahead of Morocco 2025?
Here, Soccernet.ng points out the three biggest questions Nigerians are urgently asking, and the three clearest answers Chelle managed to provide through his selections.
Nigeria’s AFCON 2025 squad: The questions begging answers
How is Maduka Okoye not in this squad?
When Eric Chelle’s 28-man list for AFCON 2025 dropped quietly on social media, Nigerians did what Nigerians often do: they read it, re-read it, and then immediately started asking questions. And perhaps the loudest of all has been this one: where on earth is Maduka Okoye?
Okoye is, by a distance, Nigeria’s most valuable goalkeeper globally, and the only one playing consistently in a top-five European league. At Udinese, he has rebuilt his confidence, his form and his status. In most countries, a goalkeeper with that profile walks into the national squad, at the very least as a strong deputy. But here we are: the Serie A shot-stopper is not just demoted, he is completely absent.
Instead, Chelle is going to AFCON with Francis Uzoho, a goalkeeper who has not held a regular starting position at his Cypriot club, and Amas Obasogie, who plays his football in Tanzania. Nigerians have every right to ask: how does this selection make sense? What level of logic elevates a bench-warmer and a Tanzania-based keeper above a Serie A starter?
Then there is the rumour making the rounds; did Okoye request to be excused? Did he ask for time to focus on Udinese after missing weeks due to a betting-related suspension? If true, why hasn’t that been communicated clearly? And if untrue, why is Nigeria travelling to Morocco without a goalkeeper playing at Europe’s highest competitive level?
Whatever the truth is, Nigeria’s most in-form goalkeeper will be sitting at home when AFCON begins. And that feels like a decision begging for explanation.
Get Our Sports News First – Join Our WhatsApp Channel Now!
Has Chelle left out his biggest tactical joker in Christantus Uche?
Some omissions are understandable. Victor Boniface, Nathan Tella, Gift Orban and Taiwo Awoniyi all had fitness interruptions, inconsistency or reduced minutes. They will know, deep down, why they didn’t make the squad.
But Christantus Uche? This one is different. This one stings.
One of La Liga’s breakout stars last season, Uche was a revelation at Getafe; dominant, versatile, relentless, technically sharp. Not since the prime years of the Uche brothers (Ikechukwu and Kalu) has a Nigerian midfielder imposed himself so confidently in Spain. If he were still in La Liga, he would be one of the first names fans would expect to see on Chelle’s list.
But an unexpected move to Crystal Palace, heavily forced, if reports are accurate, changed everything. Oliver Glasner has barely used him, not out of doubt over talent but out of loyalty to a settled starting XI. Yet, on the very night Chelle omitted him, Glasner handed Uche his first start. The result? One goal, one assist, and a statement performance in a 3–0 Europa Conference League win.
How does Chelle ignore a footballer who can play as a defensive midfielder, central midfielder, attacking midfielder, second striker and even centre-forward, all at elite level? How do you turn away from a player who gives you the tactical freedom to reinvent your team mid-match?
To worsen the confusion, he reportedly lost his place to a midfielder playing in the second division… in Israel.
Is Chelle hurting himself, and the nation, by leaving out his most adaptable talent? Or did Uche, like Okoye, also request to be excused to secure a permanent starting place at Palace? If so, why has no one said so clearly?
Right now, the silence is louder than the answers.
Is this truly Eric Chelle’s squad?
This is the most uncomfortable question, and perhaps the most important one. Former NFF officials have publicly admitted that powerful stakeholders impose players on coaches. It has happened before. It can happen again. And some eyebrows shot up when names appeared on this squad list that Chelle had never previously invited, not even provisionally.
Some players come out of nowhere. Others have no trackable record of recent form. One plays in the Israeli lower division. Another, a young forward with modest statistics, arrives from a Croatian side few Nigerians follow. So who recommended these players? On what merit? On whose authority?
Did Chelle pick them freely? Did he resist? Or did he concede?
The brutal reality is this: if Nigeria fail at AFCON, it is Chelle’s name, not the stakeholders’, that will carry the blame.
So if these inclusions are not entirely his choices, is he prepared to pay the price? And if they are his choices, does he believe Nigerians won’t ask questions?
Either way, the uncertainty surrounding the list has created a fog. A coach cannot demand trust if his selection process raises more suspicions than confidence.
Nigeria’s AFCON 2025 squad: The answers we finally received
How do we solve the right-back problem?
Chelle faced a right-back crisis the moment it became clear Ola Aina would not recover in time for AFCON. Youngster Benjamin Fredrick also got injured in Belgium, Bright Osayi-Samuel had lost the trust of the technical crew, and no obvious alternative existed.
But the coach got this one right.
Ryan Alebiosu of Blackburn Rovers has been one of the Championship’s most impressive full-backs this season; tall, athletic, composed, aggressive in duels and confident in the final third. A goal, two assists, and consistently strong performances have made him a standout player.
Nigeria finally has a proper right-back option. A solution that makes footballing sense. A selection that answers a long-standing problem.
Has Chelle finally created a Plan B for Victor Osimhen?
Everyone knows the Super Eagles function on a different frequency when Victor Osimhen leads the line. With him, Nigeria are a frightening unit. Without him, the team often looks flat and unimaginative.
Chelle, like his predecessors, has been criticised for not building a tactical Plan B not centred on Osimhen. Many of Nigeria’s forwards thrive with Osimhen, not without him.
Paul Onuachu changes that.
He may not complement Osimhen in a two-striker partnership, but he is the perfect alternative when the Galatasaray forward is unavailable. He can lead the line alone, hold up play, occupy defenders and bring wide players into the game. With Onuachu, Chelle has a different kind of striker, a different kind of system, a different strategy.
Plan B: unlocked.
Is Chelle a coward or is he quietly standing his ground?
Some Nigerians have accused Chelle of yielding to external pressure. Others think he lacks the courage to take responsibility for bold decisions.
But the evidence is more nuanced.
Despite all the noise, Chelle has retained some of the fringe players who have been through thick and thin with him in times past; Chidozie Awaziem, Semi Ajayi, Bruno Onyemaechi, and Cyriel Dessers even though they have had fluctuating form with the Super Eagles. If he were a coward, these would be the first names he would cut. Instead, he has backed them.
He has also invited three exciting newcomers who have earned their place on merit: Ebenezer Akinsanmiro, Igoh Ogbu and Tochukwu Nnadi. Two of them have never played for the Super Eagles before, yet Chelle is taking them to the continent’s biggest stage.
Cowards don’t do that.
He may not be perfect. He may have made contentious decisions. But this is not a man hiding behind fear. This is a coach trying – sometimes with clarity, sometimes with controversy – to build his own version of the Super Eagles.
And if results go his way in Morocco, he just might get the chance to show Africa what his team truly looks like.
FULL LIST: Super Eagles AFCON 2025 squad
Goalkeepers: Stanley Nwabali (Chippa United, South Africa); Amas Obasogie (Singida Blackstars, Tanzania); Francis Uzoho (Omonia FC, Cyprus)
Defenders: Calvin Bassey (Fulham FC, England); Oluwasemilogo Ajayi (Hull City, England); Bright Osayi-Samuel (Birmingham City, England); Bruno Onyemaechi (Olympiakos, Greece); Chidozie Awaziem (Nantes FC, France); Zaidu Sanusi (FC Porto, Portugal); Igoh Ogbu (Slavia Prague, Czech Republic); Ryan Alebiosu (Blackburn Rovers, England)
Midfielders: Alex Iwobi (Fulham FC, England); Frank Onyeka (Brentford FC, England); Wilfred Ndidi (Besiktas FC, Turkey); Raphael Onyedika (Club Brugge, Belgium); Tochukwu Nnadi (Zulte Waregem, Belgium); Fisayo Dele-Bashiru (SS Lazio, Italy); Ebenezer Akinsanmiro (Pisa SC, Italy); Usman Muhammed (Ironi Tiberias, Israel)
Forwards: Ademola Lookman (Atalanta BC, Italy); Samuel Chukwueze (Fulham FC, England); Victor Osimhen (Galatasaray FC, Turkey); Simon Moses (Paris FC, France); Chidera Ejuke (Sevilla FC, Spain); Akor Adams (Sevilla FC, Spain); Paul Onuachu (Trabzonspor AS, Turkey); Cyriel Dessers (Panathinaikos FC, Greece); Salim Fago Lawal (NK Istra 1961 (Croatia)
