Nigeria head coach Eric Chelle has unveiled his final 28-man squad for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, sparking plenty of debate and talking points.
The tournament kicks off on the 21st of this month, with the Super Eagles set to begin their Group C campaign against Tanzania on the 23rd, followed by fixtures against Tunisia and Uganda.
The squad features most of the established regulars, including Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman and Alex Iwobi, while several new faces including the likes of Ebenezer Akinsanmiro, Ryan Alebiosu, Tochukwu Nnadi and Usman Muhammed were also included in the squad.
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Some omissions were expected; William Troost-Ekong recently retired from international duty, while both Benjamin Fredrick and Ola Aina were left out due to injury and fitness concerns.
However, a number of other players who had been part of the team for the recent CAF playoffs for the 2026 FIFA World Cup were surprisingly excluded from the final selection.
In this article, SportPremi takes a look at three players whose absence from the final 28-man squad came as a major surprise.
1. Maduka Okoye (Goalkeeper):
The major talking point after Eric Chelle released Nigeria’s final 28-man squad for the 2025 African Cup of Nations tournament was the absence of goalkeeper Maduka Okoye.
The Udinese shot-stopper was previously first-choice before losing his spot in the lineup to Stanley Nwabali, but had returned to form and was the only Super Eagles goalkeeper playing in Europe’s top leagues.
The 26-year-old was expected to make the squad especially with doubts surrounding the fitness of Nwabali and was already part of the team since making his return from a betting suspension.
However, he will not be part of the traveling contingent to Morocco as Chelle preferred the trio of Nwabali, Francis Uzoho and Amas Obasogie to represent the three-time champions.
2. Christantus Uche (Midfield):
Christantus Uche’s omission ranks as the second biggest surprise in Nigeria’s final squad selection, coming only after the shock exclusion of Maduka Okoye.
The versatile midfielder would have offered Eric Chelle a wide range of options as he can effectively perform in midfield and also in the attacking positions.
A slow start to his Crystal Palace spell may have contributed to his omission, but the 22-year-old delivered the perfect response, producing a player-of-the-match performance in the Eagles’ 3–0 victory over Shelbourne just hours after the final squad was announced.
3. Tolu Arokodare (Forward):
Another surprise omission from Nigeria’s final squad for the 2025 AFCON tournament is Wolves striker Tolu Arokodare.
The 24-year-old rose to limelight during an impressive 2024-25 season in the Belgian league with Genk and was handed his Super Eagles debut against Rwanda in March.
However, he has struggled since his move to the English Premier League this season and was unable to inspire the country to success in the absence of Victor Osimhen in the CAF playoff final last month and has been replaced by the in-form Paul Onuachu.
