AFCON qualifiers: Lookman, Ekong, five others arrive Uyo camp

Seven players arrived at the Super Eagles camp in Uyo at 10 am on Monday, ahead of Nigeria’s 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying matches.

The players who have reported include William Troost-Ekong, Ola Aina, Semi Ajayi, Ademola Lookman, Olisa Ndah, Taiwo Awoniyi, and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru.

Nigeria is set to play Benin Republic on Saturday, September 7, 2024, in their first Group D match, scheduled for 5 pm at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium.

A video clip from the Super Eagles X account on Monday revealed this.

The 2025 AFCON qualification matches, organized by the Confederation of African Football, will determine the participating teams for the tournament in Morocco, the 35th edition of Africa’s international men’s football championship.

The qualification began with the preliminary round from March 21 to 26 and will conclude with the group stage matches in September, October, and November 2024.

A total of 24 teams will qualify for the final tournament, including the automatically-qualified hosts, Morocco.

Super Eagles players are expected to report to their Uyo camp on Monday (today), according to the Nigeria Football Federation.

After finishing second in the 2024 AFCON in Ivory Coast earlier this year, Nigeria begins its journey to another showpiece event in Morocco, which will take place from December 21, 2025, to January 18, 2026.

Nigeria’s first qualifier is against Benin Republic on Saturday, September 7, followed by a match against Rwanda three days later in Kigali.

The Nigeria Football Federation announced a 23-man squad for these two matches last Tuesday.

Augustine Eguavoen, named as the interim Super Eagles manager following Finidi George’s resignation, selected Fidelis Ilechukwu and Daniel Ogunmodede to assist him in the 2025 AFCON qualifying matches.

The Super Eagles will be looking forward to avenging their June 10, 2-1 defeat by Benin Republic in the fourth round of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers.

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