Super Eagles Face Russia Friendly With Just 19 Players After Seven Withdrawals

The Super Eagles will face Russia on Tuesday with only 19 players available after seven members of Nigeria’s original squad withdrew from the international friendly for different reasons.

The Nigeria Football Federation said injuries and clubs’ refusal to release players had significantly weakened Éric Chelle’s squad ahead of the match at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium.

Captain Wilfred Ndidi and forward Victory Akpe have been ruled out with injuries, while Raphael Onyedika, Bright Osayi-Samuel and Ridwan Abdulrasaq Popoola were prevented from travelling by their respective clubs. Moses Usor, who scored on his Nigeria debut against Madagascar, was also stopped from joining the squad by Austrian side LASK.

Suleiman Mubarak was the other absentee after he could not obtain the residence permit required to travel to Russia. The withdrawals initially left Chelle with 18 players, before late call-up Ibrahim Ajasa of Russian club FC Rostov joined the camp.

The Super Eagles completed their final training session at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium on Monday as they prepared for the friendly. The match comes days after Nigeria suffered a 3-0 defeat to Guinea-Bissau in their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign.

Chelle will therefore have a relatively thin squad to choose from against Russia, with Stanley Nwabali, Michael Atata and Samuel James among the available goalkeepers. The defence includes Kenneth Igboke, Isaac James, Benjamin Fredricks, Emmanuel Fernandez and Abdullahi Bewene.

In midfield, Chibuzo Nwoke, Stephen Michael, Igor Wilfred and Aderemi Adeoye remain available, while Kelechi Iheanacho, Moses Simon, Akor Adams, Peter Edokpolor, Abubakar Umar, Abdullahi Umar and Ajasa make up the forward options. Nigeria and Russia last met in June 2025, playing out a 1-1 draw at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium.