Alampasu Returns As Osimhen Leads Eagles Invitees For Ivory Coast, Tunisia

Dele Alampasu, Kelechi Iheanacho and Victor Osimhen are among players invited for the Super Eagles friendly games against Ivory Coast and Tunisia. 

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) released the list of invitees for the matches – billed to hold next month –  on its verified Twitter handle, Thursday.

Alampasu, 23, returns to the Eagles for the first time since the team played out a 1-1 draw with Cameroon in a 2018 World Cup qualifiers in Yaounde, 2017.

— The NFF ?? (@thenff) September 21, 2020

Maduka Okoye who made his debut for Nigeria in a 2-2 draw against Brazil in October 2019, and Matthew Yakubu, are among the three goalkeepers invited for the games.

Expectedly, Napoli forward Victor Osimhen, Moses Simon, Samuel Chukwueze, and captain Ahmed Musa, were also handed a call up for the tune-up fixtures.

Leicester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho is also among the players invited for the matches after he was dropped for the Nigerian team that came third at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Egypt.

Tyronne Ebuehi who is back after a long injury lay-off is on standby alongside AS Monaco’s Henry Onyekuru and others.

FULL LIST OF EAGLES INVITEES FOR TUNISIA, IVORY COAST GAMES

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); Cyril Dessers (KRC Genk, Belgium); Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City, England); Samuel Kalu (Girondins Bordeaux, France); Chidera Ejuke (CSKA Moscow, Russia)

Standby

Abdullahi Shehu (Bursaspor, Turkey); Ramon Azeez (Granada CF, Spain); Joshua Maja (Girondins Bordeaux, France); Henry Onyekuru (AS Monaco, France); Tyronne Ebuehi (FC Twente, Netherlands).

Two-Step Forward

The Eagles recently moved two places to 29th in the latest world rankings. This is the first time FIFA will be releasing the rankings in six months.

In the latest rankings released by the football governing body on Thursday, Nigeria got 1493 points even though they did not play a game within the period under review.

Gernot Rohr’s men are now third on the continent, trailing Senegal (20th) and Tunisia (26th) in first and second respectively.