Super Eagles: Pick your Nigeria squad for the AFCON 2027 qualifiers

Nigeria’s AFCON 2027 qualifying campaign gets underway this September, with Eric Chelle set to announce his squad for the games against Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau.

Chelle has a remarkably deep pool of talent to draw from across Europe’s top leagues, from Victor Boniface at Bayer Leverkusen and Rafiu Durosinmi’s red-hot start at KRC Genk, to the established Premier League contingent of Alex Iwobi, Calvin Bassey, Ola Aina and newly arrived Taiwo Awoniyi at Coventry City.

The big question hanging over the squad is Victor Osimhen, who has been sidelined with an adductor strain at Galatasaray and is out for the September window.

Alongside that, Zaidu Sanusi faces weeks out with a muscle problem, Tochukwu Nnadi is dealing with a serious knee problem, and Femi Azeez has yet to make his Brighton debut following a hamstring setback.

Now, Afrik Foot gives you the chance to play selector yourself. Pick your own Super Eagles squad for the AFCON 2027 qualifiers!

Super Eagles: Chelle's biggest selection headaches

In goal, Maduka Okoye returns as the favourite after a solid display in the previous friendlies against Portugal and Poland, but Stanley Nwabali's brilliant display in Chippa United's 1-1 draw against Mamelodi Sundowns has reopened the debate sharply, although Sundowns' goal came from the goalkeeper's error.

At centre-back, the form of Semi Ajayi at Hull City makes him almost undroppable, while Calvin Bassey, the new Fulham captain, is expected to partner the 32-year-old.

In midfield, Wilfred Ndidi remains the anchor around whom everything is built, but the emergence of Raphael Onyedika at Eintracht Frankfurt and Ebenezer Akinsanmiro at Monza gives Chelle exciting options in the centre of the park.

Up front, Durosinmi's five goals in six Belgian Pro League games and Kelechi Iheanacho's nine in seven for Bursaspor represent two of the most compelling cases for inclusion in the entire squad.

Iheanacho has rediscovered the form of his Leicester City years, while Durosinmi's broker has already drawn comparisons with Osimhen himself, calling him "Osimhen with a head."