Nigerian head coach Eric Chelle is expected to announce his final squad for the 2025 African Cup of Nations tournament in Morocco before the December 11 deadline.
The players are expected to arrive from their respective clubs as soon as the final list is announced, with the Super Eagles facing Egypt in a pre-tournament friendly match on the 16th of this month.
The three-time champions were placed in group C and will commence their campaign against Tanzania on the 23rd, before additional matches against Tunisia and Uganda to conclude the group stage.
Chelle unveiled a 54-man preliminary squad last week, which is expected to be trimmed as several players will miss out on the opportunity to represent their country at the continental tournament.
In this article, SportPremi takes a look at four players set to miss out on the final squad;
1. William Troost-Ekong:
Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong ruled himself out of contention for the 2025 African Cup of Nations after announcing his retirement from international football last week.
The 32-year-old had lost his place in the starting lineup in recent outings to youngster Benjamin Fredrick, who is also unavailable with injury, but was formerly one of the first-choice names to make the final list.
The former Watford defender’s leadership quality and experience will be greatly missed by Nigeria, who are now depleted in the center-back position due to the withdrawal of several players.
2. Victor Boniface:
Nigerian forward Victor Boniface could also miss out on a place in Eric Chelle’s final squad for the African Cup of Nations tournament in Morocco later this month.
The forward joined Werder Bremen in the summer from Bayer Leverkusen in search of more playing minutes, but has endured an underwhelming time at the club.
Boniface has featured for just 326 minutes across 11 matches for Die Werderaner this season and hasn’t played for Nigeria since June, leaving him behind players like Akor Adams and Tolu Arokodare in the national team pecking order.
3. Kelechi Iheanacho:
Another player that could miss out on the final squad to represent Nigeria at the 2025 African Cup of Nations is former Leicester City forward Kelechi Iheanacho.
The 29-year-old moved to Scottish champions Celtic in the summer and enjoyed a remarkable start to his career at the club, until he suffered an injury.
He recently returned from the injury problem, but could be left out of the squad due to limited minutes heading into the tournament.
4. Ola Aina:
Ola Aina is Nigeria’s first-choice right-back, but is most likely going to be absent from the African Cup of Nations tournament with injury.
The defender has missed over two months of action after suffering an injury earlier in the season and despite returning to training recently, he could be left out of the final squad to allow for his full recovery.
