Nigeria’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying marketing campaign has been hit by one more harm disaster, forcing head coach Eric Chelle to reshuffle his pack forward of this month’s decisive fixtures towards Lesotho and Benin.
Already with out key names like Ola Aina, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru and Raphael Onyedika, all sidelined at membership stage with various harm issues, the Tremendous Eagles have now confirmed that Cyriel Dessers and Brilliant Osayi-Samuel may also miss the 2 qualifiers.
Osayi-Samuel, who lately joined Birmingham Metropolis, had been nursing a knock and sat out their final sport at Wrexham, whereas Dessers’ absence compounds Nigeria’s scarcity of attacking depth.
Eric Chelle makes two modifications to his 23-man squad as Zaidu Sanusi and Christantus Uche exchange the injured Cyriel Dessers and Brilliant Osayi-Samuel. #SoarSuperEagles #FIFAWCQ pic.twitter.com/PeC6VloKOh
— 🇳🇬 Tremendous Eagles (@NGSuperEagles) October 4, 2025
Recent faces for an important doubleheader
In response, Coach Chelle has referred to as up Crystal Palace midfielder Christantus Uche and Porto left-back Zaidu Sanusi to affix camp forward of the Lesotho and Benin video games.
Sanusi is a well-recognized title to Nigerian followers. The battle-tested defender was integral to the Tremendous Eagles’ run to the Africa Cup of Nations closing however has been out of the crew for greater than a yr on account of harm. His return gives much-needed stability and expertise on the flanks.
Uche, however, represents the brand new wave of expertise. The dynamic midfielder made his Tremendous Eagles debut in June and will likely be desperate to impress Chelle and cement his place within the nationwide setup.
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Damage considerations proceed to chunk
Werder Bremen full-back Felix Agu, included within the unique squad listing launched final week, additionally faces a race towards time after selecting up an harm in a Bundesliga conflict towards St. Pauli. His participation within the worldwide break is unsure.
Preliminary squad listing
Credit score: Tremendous Eagles on (X)
The spate of accidents underscores the challenges Chelle faces as Nigeria chase most factors to remain in rivalry for a spot on the 2026 FIFA World Cup. With a mixture of seasoned internationals and hungry debutants, the Tremendous Eagles might want to summon depth, resilience, and self-belief to navigate this important window.
