Iheanacho, Boniface Among 4 Big Stars Chelle is Set to Drop in Final AFCON 2025 Squad
- Eric Chelle is set to announce his final squad for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, with the exclusion of some big names
- The manager has the next two days to announce the final squad in compliance with CAF’s December 11 deadline
- Chelle is set to go for necessity over popularity as Nigeria prepares for the tournament, which they hope to conquer
Super Eagles boss Eric Chelle is in the process of announcing his final 28-man squad for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations with some notable exclusions.
Chelle announced his 54-man preliminary squad last week after a long wait from Nigerians, many of whom felt he could have just gone straight to the point.
Source: Getty Images
CAF set a deadline for all participating countries to submit their final squad for the tournament, and with two days left, there is no sign of Nigeria’s final squad.
Nigerians are growing impatient as they want to know the players who will represent them at the 35th edition of AFCON in Morocco from December 21, 2025, to January 18, 2026.
Chelle set to drop key players
According to OwnGoal Nigeria, Chelle will announce his 28-man squad in the coming days, and it will bring a lot of surprises with the exclusion of some players.
The report noted that there will be three new players on the list, which are Blackburn Rovers’ right-back Ryan Alebiosu, Inter Milan-owned midfielder Ebenezer Akinsanmiro, and Viktoria Plzen’s Rafiu Durosinmi.
The reported exclusions are forwards Nathan Tella, Kelechi Iheanacho, Uche Christantus, Victor Boniface and Tolu Arokodare.
Tella recently returned to action after months out injured, and the same situation applies to Kelechi Iheanacho, who is at Celtic, hoping to revive his career.
Uche Christantus and Victor Boniface are in the same situation; they are struggling to settle down at Crystal Palace and Werder Bremen after joining on loan on deadline day.
However, Tolu Arokodare’s reported exclusion will be the most surprising as he had been a key part of Chelle’s team, but fell behind Akor Adams in the order.
His permanent move to Wolverhampton Wanderers has not gone to plan, with the club battling relegation with two points after 15 Premier League games.
Source: Getty Images
As noted by Transfermarkt, he has started only three games out of the 14 games he has played in all competitions for Wolves, scoring two goals in the Carabao Cup.
Whatever Chelle finally comes up with will undergo scrutiny from Nigerians, expectedly, particularly with the possible absence of home-based players.
The manager’s outing with the local Eagles at the African Nations Championship in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda did not turn out well, which has shaped his opinions about them.
4 players likely to miss AFCON
Legit.ng reportedly Super Eagles stars likely to miss AFCON 2025 due to injury after Chippa United coach cast doubt on Stanley Nwabali’s presence.
The coach confirmed that the goalkeeper is suffering from an ankle issue and also a hand injury, which requires surgery, making him a doubt for the tournament.
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Source: Legit.ng
