AFCON 2025: Super Eagles captain states what to expect from Eric Chelle's new players

The Super Eagles head coach, Eric Chelle, named a whopping five uncapped players to the AFCON squad, which sparked worry and criticism. However, the team's captain, Wilfred Ndidi, insisted that the new faces are already well acclimatised. 

Blackburn’s Ryan Alebiosu (defender), Pisa's Ebenezer Akinsanmiro (midfielder), Zulte Waregem's Tochukwu Nnadi (midfielder), Tiberias’s Muhammed Usman (midfielder), and Istra’s Salim Fago Lawal (forward) are the fresh faces in the Super Eagles setup ahead of AFCON. 

Speaking ahead of the opening fixture against Tanzania, the new national team captain expressed his confidence in the squad and stressed their focus towards the goal—AFCON triumph. 

He also put the concerns around the number of inexperienced players in the squad to bed, especially as it pertains to team chemistry, explaining that football was the ultimate unifier. 

“Yeah. Uh, the new boys that just come in, they've blended so well, with the help of the senior players, the staff, the manager,” he explained in the press conference. 

“They've blended so well because, uh, we are all football players irrespective of, uh, where we play, age, uh position we play, we're all football players, and we're here to represent the country. 

“We're all focused on one goal. So which is important and everyone, as I said earlier, everyone is in tune. Everyone is ready for this, and there's no senior player, younger player. We're just one, we're just one group who is ready for the fight for the AFCON.”

Meanwhile, Ndidi received the mantle of leadership only days leading to the AFCON after the retirements of William Troost-Ekong and Super Eagles’ most capped player, Ahmed Musa.