Nigeria coach Eric Chelle named his first Super Eagles squad on March 11 ahead of two critical qualifying matches for the 2026 World Cup.
The African giants are in serious danger of missing out on a place at the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico following a poor run of form towards the beginning of the CAF qualification process.
They turned to former Mali head coach Chelle in January this year as the man to guide a star-studded but inconsistent group of players to next year’s finals. Their coming games against Rwanda and Zimbabwe will be crucial to those hopes.
Below, The Sporting News looks at the 23-man squad for this month’s international break, which includes several household names and one or two hoping to announce themselves to the wider world.
Nigeria squad for March 2025: Super Eagles list in full
Chelle named 23 players in his squad for the March 2025 international break.
International caps current as of Tuesday, March 11, 2025.
| Pos | Name | Club | Caps |
| GK | Stanley Nwabali | Chippa United (RSA) | 15 |
| GK | Amas Obasogie | Singida Blackstars (TAN) | 0 |
| GK | Kayode Bankole | Remo Stars (NGA) | 1 |
| DEF | William Troost-Ekong | Al Kholood (KSA) | 76 |
| DEF | Bright Osayi-Samuel | Fenerbahce (TUR) | 20 |
| DEF | Bruno Onyemaechi | Olympiacos (GRE) | 11 |
| DEF | Calvin Bassey | Fulham (ENG) | 29 |
| DEF | Ola Aina | Nottingham Forest (ENG) | 44 |
| DEF | Igoh Ogbu | Slavia Prague (CZE) | 0 |
| MID | Wilfred Ndidi | Leicester City (ENG) | 62 |
| MID | Raphael Onyedika | Club Brugge (BEL) | 12 |
| MID | Alhassan Yusuf Abdullahi | New England Revolution (USA) | 6 |
| MID | Alex Iwobi | Fulham (ENG) | 83 |
| MID | Joe Aribo | Southampton (ENG) | 34 |
| FWD | Samuel Chukwueze | AC Milan (ITA) | 42 |
| FWD | Victor Osimhen | Galatasaray (TUR) | 39 |
| FWD | Ademola Lookman | Atalanta (ITA) | 27 |
| FWD | Victor Boniface | Bayer Leverkusen (GER) | 11 |
| FWD | Moses Simon | Nantes (FRA) | 72 |
| FWD | Umar Sadiq | Valencia (SPA) | 12 |
| FWD | Nathan Tella | Bayer Leverkusen (GER) | 1 |
| FWD | Tolu Arokodare | Genk (BEL) | 0 |
Nigeria match schedule for March 2025
Nigeria face two critical games this month in their bid to reach the 2026 World Cup finals.
First up, they face Rwanda at Amahoro Stadium in Kigali, before they host Zimbabwe at Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo four days later
Nigeria match dates, times for March 2025
| Date | Time (local) | Match | Stadium |
| Fri, March 21 | 6 p.m. | Rwanda vs. Nigeria | Amahoro Stadium, Kigali |
| Tues, March 25 | 5 p.m. | Nigeria vs. Zimbabwe | Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo |
