A complete, regularly-checked guide to the Nigeria national football team — squad, coach, competitions and what’s coming next for the Super Eagles.
The Nigeria national football team — the Super Eagles — is chasing a return to the World Cup while working through a fresh AFCON 2027 qualifying campaign under head coach Eric Chelle. This guide covers the current Super Eagles squad, where the key players are based, and what’s coming up on the fixture list, and we’ll keep it updated as call-ups and results change.
Eric Chelle has managed Nigeria’s senior men’s team through 2025 and into 2026, building his squad around a settled core of Europe-based players while giving fringe and home-based talent a look-in for friendlies. As a result, the matchday squad often looks different for a competitive qualifier than it does for a low-stakes friendly — worth knowing before you assume a big name will start.
Chelle has a genuinely deep pool to pick from across Europe’s top leagues. Here’s who anchors the squad heading into the back half of 2026:
That said, injuries reshape the list quickly. Osimhen’s adductor issue, a muscle problem for Zaidu Sanusi, and a knee injury for Tochukwu Nnadi have all affected recent squad lists — so it’s worth checking our latest Osimhen fitness update before assuming the headline names will feature.
Six Super Eagles players started the 2026/27 season in the Premier League, giving Nigerian fans plenty to follow every weekend. Iwobi and Bassey are both at Fulham, while Awoniyi and Onyeka are reunited at Coventry City following promotion. That local Premier League presence is exactly why our Iwobi milestone piece and weekly match coverage draw so much interest from Nigerian readers — seeing a Super Eagle line up in England hits differently than reading about it from a distance.
Nigeria’s push toward the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations has been a mixed bag so far. The Super Eagles sit third in their qualifying group, several points behind the leaders, meaning wins are no longer optional if Chelle’s side want to control their own path to the tournament. Every remaining qualifier now carries real weight, which is part of why recent squad announcements have leaned on Chelle’s most reliable performers rather than experimenting too heavily.
Beyond the qualifiers, Nigeria have also confirmed an international friendly against Russia at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium — a rematch of last year’s 1-1 draw in Moscow. Friendlies like this typically give Chelle room to test fringe players and Under-23 talent without disrupting the settled qualifying XI, so don’t be surprised to see a noticeably different lineup than in the AFCON fixtures.
Victor Osimhen remains Nigeria’s number one striker when available, though his recent injury has opened the door for Boniface and Durosinmi to press their claims.
Six Nigerian internationals started the 2026/27 Premier League season with their clubs, led by Iwobi and Bassey at Fulham and Awoniyi and Onyeka at Coventry City.
Nigeria are currently third in their qualifying group, meaning they need results in their remaining fixtures to control their own qualification path.
Stanley Nwabali has been the first-choice goalkeeper through much of Chelle’s tenure, with Maduka Okoye and Arthur Okonkwo as the main alternatives.
For more on how the NPFL feeds this national team pipeline, see our guide to Nigeria’s football clubs. And if you’re following the Super Eagles’ odds for upcoming qualifiers, our ranked list of Nigeria’s licensed betting sites is a good starting point for comparing platforms before you sign up anywhere.
For the latest on the current qualifying window, read our breakdown of the confirmed 24-man squad for Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau and our Nigeria vs Madagascar match preview.
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