Rohr invites two new players for Ukraine friendly

Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr has invited two new players for the friendly against Ukraine in September.

Rohr announced his list of 23 players including 18 players from the team that finished third at the Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.

Goalkeeper Maduka Okoye and midfielder Joe Aribo were handed first-time invitations to play for the Super Eagles in the forthcoming friendly.

German-born Okoye had openly stated his commitment to play for Nigeria before he was given a call-up to Nigeria’s U23 team. With Rohr inviting just three goalkeepers including Ikechukwu Ezenwa and Francis Uzoho, the Fortuna Düsseldorf II keeper seems to have knocked Daniel Akpeyi off the list.

Following the retirement of John Mikel Obi and Odion Ighalo, Gernot Rohr has invited new faces into the team with the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers set to commence.

List of invited @NGSuperEagles players for the International Friendly against #Ukraine National Team on September 10, 2019. #SoarSuperEagles #Team9jaStrong pic.twitter.com/hE3A5WQXvx

— The NFF 🇳🇬 (@thenff) August 14, 2019

Aribo, who recently joined Rangers on a free transfer from Charlton Athletic, will also join the squad. The England-born midfielder could make his debut at the Dnipro Arena, Ukraine.

The duo of Kelechi Iheanacho and Semi Ajayi that were dropped from the team that went to the AFCON were invited for the friendly scheduled for September 10. Full back, Tyronne Ebuehi was also handed an invite for the first time since the 2018 World Cup. The Benfica right-back was injured for a year after he ruptured his cruciate ligament in July 2018.

Victor Osimhen, who set the French Ligue 1 alight with a brace on his debut for Lille, is also on the list. Monaco’s new signing Henry Onyekuru and Villareal starlet Samuel Chukwueze were called up to the side.