Nigeria’s midfield will again be dominated by defensive-minded players with possibly only Alex Iwobi of Arsenal providing the creative juice in the middle of the park.
Should Gernot Rohr stick to the 3-5-2 formation he has been working on, it also means the likes of wingers Moses Simon and Samuel Kalu will be involved as wing backs.
Experience will be provided by captain Mikel Obi, who is back in the fold after a year’s break, while energy will be supplied by Wilfred Ndidi and Oghenekaro Etebo.
Super Eagles Profiles Goalkeepers
John Obi MIKEL
Age: 32
Club: Middlesbrough (England)
Caps: 86
Debut: vs Libya (2005)
Captain and the longest serving member of the squad. Took a “sabbatical” after Russia 2018 World Cup to come back into the squad to continue his midfield marshaling and commanding role. Mikel is the team’s mainstay and inspirational leader. He’s chasing a century of caps and could stay a lot longer after the AFCON to achieve this.
Oghenekaro ETEBO
Age: 23
Club: Stoke City (England)
Caps: 25
Debut: vs Côte D’Ivoire (2013)
Combative, skillful, strong and full of grit, Etebo is expected to provide the much needed extra cover for Mikel in the midfield. Held down his duty gamely in Mikel’s absence, but will now have to take the back seat with the return of Mikel at AFCON.
Wilfred NDIDI
Age: 22
Club: Leicester City (England)
Caps: 26
Debut: vs DR Congo (2015)
Ndidi holds the ace in the Eagles midfield and he doesn’t appear to be slowing down. Playing in his first major senior tournament in Africa, the former Genk midfielder is expected to keep Eagles midfield as compact as ever. Mikel and Etebo will always make his job a lot easier.
John OGU
Age: 29
Club: Hapoel Be’er Sheva (Israel)
Caps: 33
Debut: vs Kenya (2013)
Ogu had been in and out of the Eagles since he made his debut in 2013. His excellent performances for Israeli top side Hapoel Be’er Sheva guaranteed his recent involvement, but it’s time Ogu played a bigger role with the Eagles.
Alex IWOBI
Age: 23
Club: Arsenal (England)
Caps: 27
Debut: DR Congo (2015)
Former Super Eagles’ captain Austin “Jay Jay” Okocha’s nephew has remained an integral part of the Eagles since his debut four years. Young, full of energy, this youngster can operate well in the midfield as well as in the attack and has always proved himself. Will Rohr now count on him to play in central midfield rather than on the left side of attack?
Moses SIMON
Age: 23
Club: Levante
Caps: 24
Debut: vs Uganda (2015)
Coach Gernot Rohr will be unleashing this dashing star in his new role at left wing back at AFCON. Simon has also distinguished himself playing from the wings either on the right or left and perhaps could be rotated from his new role. Wherever he’s deployed to play, defenders will surely have a tough customer to contend with.
Samuel KALU
Age: 23
Club: Bordeaux (France)
Caps: 5
Debut: vs Libya (2018)
The former KAA Gent star will surely offer more options for Eagles in the attack. Intelligent, daring, skillful, Kalu brings a bag of those and goals to complement his all-round ability. He could now play at right wingback at this AFCON as Rohr adopts a more offensive formation in Egypt.
