Eguavoen Omission of Two Star Players Sparks Reactions Ahead of Super Eagles Match vs Libya

The Nigeria football hierarchy has started to step up preparations for the next phase of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON, qualifiers, with the Super Eagles coming up against a doubleheader against Libya. Fresh from their victory over the Republic of Benin and a draw against Rwanda, the Super Eagles have gone into two important fights against The Mediterranean Knights. According to recent reports, Augustine Eguavoen has unveiled his 23-man squad for the matches.

Meanwhile, a report by OwnGoalNigeria has shown that the 59-year-old interim coach has indeed named his squad but made some important changes: he has dropped two key players, Alhassan Yusuf and Benjamin Tanimu, from the roster. The two players were part of recent international windows but will not be involved with the team for these AFCON qualifiers.

While rising talent in defense Tanimu and promising midfielder Yusuf have been left out, reasons for their exclusions are kept behind the curtain. Despite that, interim manager Eguavoen has made a big move to recall veteran defender Kenneth Omeruo. The 30-year-old, who had been a pillar in Nigeria’s defense for the past number of years, missed the last three international games owing to personal reasons, but he has now been passed fit to return to the fold for the two coming games.

The Super Eagles will begin preparations for the international window in the first week of October, and the official squad list will be made public in the coming days. Nigeria will host Libya at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium on 11th October before heading to Tripoli for the reverse fixture three days later.

Historically, Libya has always struggled against Nigeria in past encounters. For over a decade, the Libyan national team is yet to secure a win against the Super Eagles, and these upcoming matches represent a critical opportunity for the Super Eagles to seal their qualification ticket to the 2025 AFCON.

Eguavoen’s team will look forward to building on the momentum of those two earlier qualification matches with big players coming back into form and new faces ready to step up. While there might be one or two question marks as to the exclusion of Yusuf and Tanimu, their exclusion perhaps shows the manager’s intention to balance the youth and experience in the team makeup for these crucial fixtures ahead, as evidenced by his call-up of experienced players like Omeruo.

This double-header against Libya will, therefore, be the defining moment of the Nigeria quest, with all eyes fixed on Eguavoen and the selected squad for a team seeking to keep an unbeaten record in the series.