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Peseiro released his 23-man list for Nigeria’s Africa Cup of Nations Qualifying clash against Sierra Leone later this month.
Super Eagles coach Jose Peseiro has named his squad for Nigeria’s AFCON qualifier against Sierra Leone, with the list causing controversy again.
Regulars like Victor Osimhen, Alex Iwobi, William-Troost Ekong, Wilfred Ndidi, Ademola Lookman and Kelechi Iheanacho were all included.
However, like any other list, Peseiro handed calls to some players not deserving of an invite, including Ahmed Musa, who keeps making this list despite his lack of game time.
Musa’s invitation was met with criticism once again, with fans criticising Peseiro for sticking with the same set of old guards.
But Musa’s invitation was not the only controversial decision Peseiro took. The Portuguese tactician also left some in-form players out of his squad.
With that said, we look at the five biggest players Peseiro snubbed from his list.
Terem Moffi (Nice)
Moffi must be wondering what he needs to do to get called up consistently after he was snubbed again.
Since he made his debut two years ago, Moffi has been in and out of the team, although he was in the team last time out against Guinea-Bissau.
However, he is not in the squad this time, which is surprising considering he has been one of Nigeria’s best players this season.
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One of the criteria for an invitation to the national team is good performance at club level. But it appears that is not the case in Nigeria.
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Only Osimhen scored more goals in Europe’s top five leagues than Moffi’s 17 strikes this season.
Yet, he is not good enough to be in a squad that has Musa, who has played just 427 minutes of league football this season.
Victor Boniface
Boniface is another player who should have been called up after an impressive season with Royale Union Saint-Gilloise.
Although, unlike Moffi, Boniface has not played for Nigeria, he was expected to earn his first invitation after a successful season with Union SG.
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The 22-year-old finished with seven goals and seven assists in the Belgian League this season and was also Europa League’s joint-top scorer with six goals.
But despite his impressive performances, Peseiro did not deem him worthy to be invited. A strange decision.
Gift Orban
Before this year, Gift Orban was an unknown player in the lower division of Norway. But since the turn of the year, Orban’s profile has been on the rise.
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13:04 - 04.06.2023
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The 20-year-old joined Gent from Staebek in January and has been one of the stars of the Belgian top flight since his arrival.
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Orban scored 20 goals and set up another two in 22 games after joining Gent. He has been tipped to be the next big superstar to come out of the Belgian League, yet he has not been selected by Peseiro.
What makes his absence more disappointing is that Orban fits into the style of Peseiro perfectly, the same as Boniface and Moffi, yet they were all sidelined.
Raphael Onyedika
For a very long time, the Super Eagles have been searching for a fresh breed of midfielders after years of recycling.
It has been a difficult search, but Raphael Onyedika emerged this season. Like Orban and Boniface, Onyedika is also one of the best youngsters in the Belgian League with Club Brugge.
The Nigerian joined the dethroned Belgian champions last summer from FC Midtjylland after he was initially linked with a move to AC Milan.
Onyedika took to his new environment like a duck to water, playing a key role for Club Brugge.
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The FC Ebedei product played a whopping 49 games in all competitions for the dethroned Belgian champions, and he is one of the best midfielders Nigeria have right now.
However, for reasons known to him, Peseiro has decided not to hand the 22-year-old a second international call-up.
Chuba Akpom
Akpom is another attacker left out despite scoring more than any striker in the English Championship this season.
The former Arsenal star won the Golden Boot and was named the player of the season in England’s second division after scoring 29 goals for Middlesbrough.
Still, it was not good enough to earn him a spot in Peseiro’s squad. Akpom grew up in the UK but switched international allegiance to Nigeria a few years ago, so it was not a case of him not being ready.
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In fairness, Nigeria’s attacking department is full of many options. Still, it is ridiculous to say Moses Simon and Ahmed Musa deserved an invitation ahead of Akpom, considering the season they all had at their respective clubs.
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