Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong, who recently suggested he may retire from international duty, has been named in Nigeria’s 55-man provisional squad for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations scheduled to hold in Morocco.
The list, released yesterday by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), features several regulars, including Victor Osimhen, vice-captain Wilfred Ndidi, and first-choice goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali. Also listed are Maduka Okoye, Zaidu Sanusi, Calvin Bassey, Semi Ajayi, Frank Onyeka, Alex Iwobi, Raphael Onyedika, Ademola Lookman, Samuel Chukwueze, Moses Simon and Chidera Ejuke.
Nigeria Premier Football League talents Abdulrasheed Shehu, Ebenezer Harcourt, Ekeson Okorie, Chisom Orji and Adekunle Adeleke were also included. The NFF noted that the squad will be trimmed to 28 in the coming days.
The team will open camp in Egypt on December 10, where they are expected to play friendly matches ahead of the tournament’s kickoff on December 21. Nigeria has been drawn in Group C with Tanzania, Tunisia and Uganda.
The full provisional list spans all positions, with six goalkeepers, an extensive defensive lineup, a highly competitive midfield group and a stacked forward line led by Osimhen, Taiwo Awoniyi, Kelechi Iheanacho, Sadiq Umar, Victor Boniface and Terem Moffi.
However, the Super Eagles’ preparations face a slight setback as several Europe-based players may miss the December 14 friendly against Egypt. FIFA regulations permit clubs to keep their players until December 15, meaning top stars in the Premier League and other European leagues will likely be unavailable for the fixture.
Once released, the players are expected to miss a significant portion of their clubs’ December fixtures. If Nigeria advances beyond the group stage—which ends on December 31—its players could remain on national duty until the final on January 17. In that scenario, they would miss up to six club matches but should be back in time for league games scheduled for January 24 and 25.
