Tolu Arokodare admitted he was not shocked to miss out on Nigeria’s squad for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, explaining that strong competition and his lack of regular game time worked against him.
The Nigerian forward joined Premier League club Wolves from Belgian outfit Genk last summer, but initially struggled for playing minutes upon his arrival.
He has now become a key part of the squad, especially with the departure of Jorgen Strand Larsen to Crystal Palace in January.
The 25-year-old last featured for the Super Eagles in the CAF playoff final for the 2026 World Cup against DR Congo, a match they went on to lose on penalties, dashing their dreams.
He endured a disappointing outing in that match, but was still expected to make the final squad for the tournament in Morocco, having being named in the preliminary squad.
However, he missed out on a place in Eric Chelle’s final 28-man squad, with the Super Eagles coach opting for Victor Osimhen, Akor Adams, Paul Onuachu and Cyriel Dessers as his centre forward options.
Nigeria went on to finish third at the tournament after defeating Egypt on penalties, rounding off a very impressive outing in Morocco.
Arokodare reflects on AFCON 2025 absence
Speaking during an interview session, Arokodare acknowledged his reduced playing minutes and poor performance in the CAF playoff final as the factors that played him out of contention for a spot in Nigeria’s squad for the AFCON tournament.
“To be very honest, I knew not anybody telling me. Since that Congo game because I would be very honest,” Arokodare revealed.
“That Congo game, the way I came on and off, and the way the result went, I don’t want to talk about the chance I missed because anybody can miss a chance. I obviously was trying to score.
The way my last game went with the national team wasn’t really the best and the way the season was going with Wolves. I wasn’t playing as many minutes, I am like, Tolu be realistic, if you’re the coach, would you call yourself?”, the Wolves striker added.
The 25-year-old also pointed to the quality possessed by the Super Eagles in attack as another major reason why he missed out.
“Look at the strikers, there was Osimhen, Onuachu, who was the top scorer in Turkey ahead of Osimhen, who is our top scorer in the national team,” Arokodare said.
“There is Akor Adams, who is having a very good run with the national team, he was doing very well playing alongside Osimhen.
“So, it was between me, Dessers, Moffi, and Boniface, who were in the same situation as me and he was struggling with fitness. When I saw the list and I didn’t see my name, I won’t say it was hurtful but I would say, it was painful to know you weren’t selected,” he concluded.
Aroodare’s attention will shift to helping Wolves in their faint battle for survival, as they face Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Sunday.
