Three-time African champions begin World Cup qualifiers without two of their best players
Super Eagles head coach Jose Peceiro has confirmed that he will not invite Napoli striker Victor Osimhen and AC Milan winger Samuel Chukwueze to play in Nigeria in November, Soccernet.ng reported.
Nigeria will play Lesotho and Zimbabwe later this month in the first two matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Osimhen and Chukwueze had varying degrees of injury, and there were doubts as to whether they would be able to play in the crucial qualifying round.
Osimhen suffered an injury while playing for Nigeria against Saudi Arabia last month and has not played for Napoli since.
Chukwueze also missed AC Milan’s recent matches due to injury, but the flying winger recently returned to training.
Milan coach Stefano Pioli announced on Monday that the former Villarreal winger could feature in midweek’s Champions League match against PSG.
However, although it may be unlikely that both players will be fit enough for Nigeria’s qualifiers against Lesotho and Zimbabwe, Peseiro has decided to drop their names from the squad.
The Portuguese coach believes he is partly responsible for the injuries sustained by both attackers in October and has chosen to allow them to fully recover at their respective clubs. Did.
“Samuel Chukwueze and Victor Osimhen will not be named for the next break. According to the Milan report, we do not want to take any risks,” Peseiro told TV Play.
“The injury is very unfortunate. The club pays the players and we always work with them.”
Even in the absence of Osimhen and Chukwueze, Peseiro will have no shortage of attacking options for the Super Eagles.
Victor Boniface has had an excellent start in Germany and the Bayer Leverkusen striker is Nigeria’s second most valuable player after Osimhen.
Ademola Lookman rediscovered his qualities as a goalscorer with Atalanta, while Paul Onuachu returned to his best form with Turkish club Trabzonspor.
Chuba Akpom scored twice on Sunday to lead Ajax Amsterdam to their first consecutive Eredivisie wins of the season.
Akol Adams has been almost unstoppable since his first season in French Ligue 1, while Terem Moffi has been a consistent performer for league leaders OGC Nice.
