Super Eagles: Augustine Eguavoen's team suffers fresh blow ahead of 2025 AFCON qualifiers

• The Super Eagles of Nigeria are poised to kick off their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on September 7
• Several players of the Nigerian team have already resumed camp ahead of the crucial qualification fixtures
• The West African powerhouse has been dealt a huge blow ahead of the run of qualification games

The Super Eagles of Nigeria may have subtly overcome the lingering challenges surrounding their coaching situation with the appointment of Augustine Eguavoen, but all is still not well with the team.

Set to face the Republic of Benin and the Amavubi of Rwanda, the Nigerian squad has been dealt another setback with an injury to a key defender.

Nigeria's players pose for a team photo ahead of the FIFA 2026 World Cup qualifiers match against Benin at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny stadium in Abidjan on June 10, 2024. Image: Issouf Sanogo.
Source: Getty Images

According to a report by OwnGoalNigeria, Fenerbahçe defender, Bright Osayi-Samuel, has been ruled out of the upcoming 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualification fixtures due to an ankle injury.

The 26-year-old has already missed the Turkish club's last two Super Lig matches.

PAY ATTENTION: Share your outstanding story with our editors! Please reach us through info@corp.legit.ng!

Interim coach Eguavoen has responded by calling up newly signed Crawley Town player Benjamin Tanimu to replace Osayi-Samuel.

Egauveon calls up Tanimu

The 22-year-old, who recently signed a two-year contract with the League One club, is set to replace Osayi-Samuel in the Super Eagles squad.

According to a report by BBC Sports, the former Singida Black Stars defender completed his transfer from the Tanzanian Premier League for a fee reported to be in the region of $850,000.

The versatile defender made his debut with the Super Eagles during the March international window under then-manager, Finidi George. Since then, the former Bendel Insurance star has become a key player in the Nigerian setup.

Tanimu's arrival at the national team camp brings the squad to 18 players.

The Nigerian team will host the Republic of Benin in their opening qualification fixture in Uyo before travelling to Kigali to face Rwanda.

Reasons Labbadia ditched Super Eagles job

Legit.ng in another report detailed notable demands that led Labbadia to walk away from his role as Super Eagles coach.

The 58-year-old had reportedly agreed on a deal with the NFF; however, due to a few demands, he appeared to have turned down the offer made to him by the federation.

Source: Legit.ng