23rd September, 2020
By Preye Campbell
As with every team that plays football, there comes a time when a squad metamorphoses into a new, and supposedly young group. It could be a slow process or it could come rapidly- as rapid as the Brazilian national teams or the English national teams- but the fact is that it will happen.
The Super Eagles played their last major competition at the Total Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament in Egypt in 2019.
That group that came third in the event had the mix; the long-serving players and the greenhorns. It was a Super Eagles team that had a mixture of the likes of John Obi Mikel, Odion Ighalo and the likes of Samuel Chukwueze and Henry Onyekuru.
Since that tournament, the Mikel and Ighalo had decided to retire from the national team, paving the way for Gernot Rohr and the rest of the coaching staff to source for fresh blood that will continue the Nigeria Super Eagles legacy.
And with the international friendlies against Cote D’Ivoire and Tunisia drawing nigh, the present Eagles team now has the make-up of a young, exciting team.
This latest 25-man team could possibly be the beginning of a new group of players that will lead the team for at least the next decade.
That realisation comes with excitement; new Eagles, new hope.
The Eagles team of the last decade were not consistently exciting, even though the era witnessed some top performers and some important victories.
In that era, the Eagles never missed the FIFA World Cup showdowns and dutifully claimed the 2013 AFCON trophy as well as winning bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
And there were disappointments as well. The three-time AFCON champions missed the 2015 and 2017 editions, and they never got past the Round-of-16 stage at the World Cup.
On an individual level, a large group of the Eagles camp failed to nail down consistent top-class performances at their respective clubs. That perhaps explains why no Nigerian player got shortlisted in the top three for the CAF Player of the Year award during that decade.
All is about to change now- or, so we think.
Rohr has decided to put his faith into a lot of youngsters, and this largely new group- spearheaded by the Napoli star Victor Osimhen- will have the spotlight shine on them as they prepare to don the country’s colours.
Most of the new players are yet to play together and 5 players have been handed their first-ever call ups by the national team.
It remains coach Rohr’s desire to create a new Super Eagles team for the future.
There are still notable absentees in this squad; Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka and Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze for instance – provided they eventually decide to play for this team and not the Three Lions of England.
But for now, with this exciting, young, and inexperienced squad, we can hope that the next decade will become a much more memorable period for Nigerian football.
FULL SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Dele Alampasu (FK Ventspils, Latvia); Matthew Yakubu (SKF Sered, Slovakia); Maduka Okoye (Sparta Rotterdam, The Netherlands)
Defenders: Kenneth Omeruo (CD Leganes, Spain); Leon Balogun (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland); Chidozie Awaziem (FC Boavista, Portugal); William Ekong (Udinese FC, Italy); Olaoluwa Aina (Fulham FC, England); Jamilu Collins (SC Paderborn 07, Germany); Oluwasemilogo Ajayi (West Bromwich Albion, England); Zaidu Sanusi (FC Porto, Portugal)
Midfielders: Mikel Agu (Vitoria Guimaraes, Portugal); Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City, England); Frank Onyeka (FC Midtjylland, Denmark); Oghenekaro Etebo (Galatasary SK, Turkey); Samson Tijani (TSV Hartberg, Austria)
Forwards: Ahmed Musa (Al Nassr, Saudi Arabia); Alex Iwobi (Everton FC, England); Victor Osimhen (SSC Napoli, Italy); Moses Simon (FC Nantes, France); Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal FC, Spain); Cyriel Dessers (KRC Genk, Belgium); Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City, England); Samuel Kalu (Girondins Bordeaux, France); Chidera Ejuke (CSKA Moscow, Russia)