3 players Eric Chelle must invite for Super Eagles AFCON qualifiers

Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle is set to release his squad for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau, with the possibility of including many new faces in the group, Afrik-Foot reports.

Nigeria host Madagascar in Uyo on 23 September and travel to face Guinea-Bissau four days later.

The complications are stacking up around Chelle as the window approaches. Zaidu Sanusi is a major doubt after his adductor injury at FC Porto, Felix Agu is nursing his own fitness concerns, Amedspor winger Yira Sor is out with a hamstring tear, and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru is racing to recover from a Lazio thigh injury.

With gaps opening across defence, midfield and attack, three specific names should be non-negotiable additions to Chelle’s group for the September International break.

3 Super Eagles players Eric Chelle must invite

1. Semi Ajayi

The first name is one whose form makes his omission almost impossible to justify. Semi Ajayi has been outstanding since Hull City’s return to the Premier League, starting the top-flight campaign with a goal against Manchester United.

The 32-year-old already has one goal in just 154 top-flight minutes, and has been through the biggest Super Eagles nights of the last two years, playing every minute of Nigeria’s 2024 AFCON final run to Ivory Coast and scoring in Nigeria’s 2025 AFCON group opener against Tanzania.

2. Tolu Arokodare

Tolu Arokodare joined Ajax on a season-long loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers in July, with the Dutch club holding a €22 million option to sign him permanently, and has made his substitute appearances count for the club.

The lanky striker has scored four goals and provided two assists in six games for Ajax, boasting a healthy goal-to-game ratio.

His goalscoring form has only been bettered by Victor Osimhen, with Kelechi Iheanacho also coming in clutch. If Chelle is to pick solely based on form, Arokodare should be next to Osimhen in Nigeria’s attack.

3. Alhassan Yusuf

The 26-year-old central midfielder produced an eye-catching individual performance in New England’s 3-0 road victory at D.C. United, was named MLS Player of the Matchday, became the first Revolution player to record a regular-season hat-trick since Kei Kamara in 2017, and lifted his 2026 goal tally to five, a single-season career high.

Chelle himself flagged Yusuf in a social media post highlighting the players on his radar, and the case for Yusuf goes beyond one goal and touches on positional need.

Fisayo Dele-Bashiru’s Lazio thigh injury has left a gap in Nigeria’s central midfield rotation, and a midfielder who has the scoring touch in his game while operating with huge confidence is the kind of player that Eric Chelle can trust to perform in the AFCON 2027 qualifiers.