Raphael Onyedika and Ebenezer Akinsanmiro Confirmed for Super Eagles’ AFCON 2025 Squad
- Midfielders Raphael Onyedika and Ebenezer Akinsanmiro are confirmed to be on Eric Chelle's final squad
- Their clubs have confirmed their presence after claiming they will be missing in action for weeks for AFCON
- Chelle is expected to announce his squad for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations before the Thursday deadline
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Raphael Onyedika and Ebenezer Akinsanmiro have been confirmed to be on Eric Chelle's final squad for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
Chelle will announce his final 28-man squad for AFCON 2025 latest by Thursday, which is the deadline set by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Source: Getty Images
Super Eagles need a strong performance at the tournament to appease Nigerians for failing to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup after losing to DR Congo in the playoff.
Nigeria's camp was initially announced to be opening on December 10, but FIFA's regulation that clubs have till December 15 to release their players shifted the date.
The NFF confirmed that there is an agreement to postpone the Egypt vs Nigeria pre-AFCON match to December 16 and will be a training match rather than a friendly game.
Onyedika and Akinsanmiro confirmed for AFCON
Eric Chelle has yet to announce his final squad for AFCON, and aside from the regular players who are certain to make it, there is a confirmation for two other players.
Club Brugge has confirmed that Raphael Onyedika has received an invitation to represent Nigeria at the tournament and will be missing in action for the Belgians.
Onyedika has been a regular member of the Super Eagles, but has struggled for minutes under Eric Chelle, with Wilfred Ndidi, Alex Iwobi and Frank Onyeka preferred over him.
Inter Milan midfielder Ebenezer Akinsanmiro, who is on loan at Pisa FC, is also in the squad after his manager confirmed his absence for a while.
“Akinsanmiro? After Lecce (on December 12), he’ll miss several matches,” he said, as per FC Inter1908.
The 21-year-old recently returned to action for the newly-promoted Serie A side after missing two matches due to injury, but his performance has not gone unnoticed in Nigeria.
Source: Getty Images
Chelle has a huge task at hand with his squad selection. First, he must streamline his squad to 28 despite the depth of talent available in all departments.
Secondly, some of his trusted players are either ruled out or doubtful for the tournament due to injury, with Stanley Nwabali the latest to join the injury list.
Benjamin Fredrick is already ruled out of the tournament, while Ola Aina and Felix Agu are uncertain. William Troost-Ekong added to Chelle’s defensive problems with his international retirement.
The Super Eagles will start their AFCON campaign on December 23, 2025, against the Taifa Stars of Tanzania. The team will face the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia and the Cranes of Uganda on December 27 and 30, respectively.
Chelle drops Boniface and Iheanacho
Legit.ng reported that Eric Chelle dropped Victor Boniface, Kelechi Iheanacho and some other big names from his final squad for AFCON 2025.
The manager appears to be going for players who will serve him over the regular popular names, with some new faces expected to be added to the squad.
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Source: Legit.ng
