Super Eagles’ Head Coach, Eric Chelle, has finalised his squad for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, which kicks off on December 21. But one major absentee from the list could be Nigeria’s number one goalkeeper, Stanley Nwabali, who has been sidelined by injury since the Super Eagles’ ill-fated campaign to make the 2026 World Cup.
Team Captain, William Troost-Ekong, is already out of the squad, having announced his retirement from the team last week.
Chelle is expected to announce his final team list for the championship before tomorrow’s deadline set by CAF, and according to reports from South Africa, Nwabali, who plays for Chippa United, is not in the right condition to make the Nations Cup.
The reports said that Nwabali needs surgery to correct his ankle and hand injury and may not recover in time for the competition.
According to Super Sports, Chippa United’s Head Coach, Vusimuzi Vilakazi, gave a rather bleak update on his keeper: “I doubt it, looking at the state of his injury. I don’t think he will make it. When I spoke to him, he was confident he could recover very soon, which is understandable since he absolutely wants to be there for the final stages of the Africa Cup of Nations.”
Vilakazi said that the reality is that Nwabali is still injured and needs a miracle to heal on time for the AFCON.
Apart from Nwabali, Taiwo Awoniyi, a striker, is also an injury doubt for the championship. The Nottingham Forest star has hardly played this season due to an injury he sustained towards the end of last season.
According to CAF, Chelle must submit his squad list for the AFCON tomorrow or face sanctions.
CAF said that any federation that misses the deadline by more than seven days will lose two squad places and enter the tournament with only 21 players. It allows no further adjustments once the final list arrives.
The only exception concerns force majeure. A nation can apply for a change only when a player suffers a serious injury and receives medical confirmation of his inability to compete.
A team may submit a list of 28 players for the championship, but CAF will only cater for 23 players in terms of travel, accommodation, and other competition-related logistics.
The remaining five optional slots may be utilised at the discretion of the national teams, but the full cost of those additional players will be taken care of by the concerned country.
This new regulation intends to give teams greater flexibility in managing injuries, suspensions, and tactical planning.
Super Eagles’ group opponents, Uganda, are already in Morocco with 30 players fine-tuning their strategy for the competition.
The training camp in Casablanca will run for 11 days before the final squad of 28 is confirmed.
In Morocco, Uganda Cranes is expected to play two international friendlies to fine-tune for the tournament that will run from December 21, 2025, to January 18, 2026.
