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In addition to being notable returnees, Victor Boniface, Ola Aina, Francis Uzoho, and Kelechi Iheanacho were revealed as part of Nigeria’s 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) provisional squad. &nbsp,

Aina is expected to miss three months due to an injury she sustained in Nigeria’s 2-2 draw with South Africa in September.

In recent matches, the team did not include Boniface, Uzoho, or Iheanacho.

About three weeks before the Moroccan competition, the Super Eagles’ social media accounts released the AFCON list with the 54-man roster.

Regulars included, among others, Captain William Troost-Ekong, Wilfred Ndidi, Stanley Nwabali, Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman, Simon Moses, Samuel Chukwueze, and Zaidu Sanusi, as was anticipated.

Six goalkeepers, 13 defenders, 12 midfielders, and 23 forwards are included in the squad’s breakdown.

Inter Milan’s Ebenezer Akinsanmiro made the provisional squad, and he is expected to make the competition’s final list. He is currently on loan at Pisa.

Adekunle Adeleke, Ebenezer Harcourt, Abdulrasheed Shehu, Ekeson Okorie, and Chisom Orji are just a few players from the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) who are also on the roster.

On or before December 11 will be revealed Nigeria’s final 28-man list. The 2025 AFCON will run from December 21st, 2025, to January 18, 2026.

The Super Eagles will face Group C opponents Tanzania, Uganda, and Tunisia, and camp in Egypt for the game will start on December 10.

Nigeria’s Provisional List for the 2025 AFCON

Nigeria’s 2025 AFCON provisional squad is shown below.

Goalkeepers

Stanley Nwabali (Chippa United, South Africa), Amas Obasogie (Singida Blackstars, Tanzania), Maduka Okoya (Udinese FC, Italy), Francis Uzoho (Omonia FC, Cyprus), and Ebenezer Harcourt (Sporting Lagos) are the players.

Defenders

Olaoluwa Aina (Nottingham Forest, England), Calvin Bassey (Birmingham City, England), Bruno Onyemaechi (FC Porto, Portugal), Igoh Ogbu (Slavia Prague, Czech Republic), Ryan Alebiosu (Blackburn Rovers, England), Adekunle Adeleke (Abia Warriors), William Ekong (Al-Kholood, Saudi Arabia), Calvin Bassey (Bir

Midfielders

Alex Iwobi (Fulham FC, England), Frank Onyeka (Besiktas FC, Turkey), Alhassan Yusuf Abdullahi (New England Revolution, USA), Christantus Uche (Crystal Palace, Belgium), Tochukwu Nnadi (SS Lazio, Italy), Peter Agba (Maccabi Haifa, Israel), and Tom Dele-Bashiru (Gençlerbirligi SK, Turkey)

Forwards

Mohamed Salah was unappreciative of being dropped from Liverpool’s squad for their crucial 2-0 victory against West Ham, according to Arne Slot, who acknowledged his attitude on Tuesday.

Following a terrible run of nine defeats in all competitions, Liverpool boss Slot made changes to the Egypt forward at the London Stadium on Sunday.

The 33-year-old misfiring Salah has only scored four Premier League goals this year, which is a low figure compared to Salah’s 29 last season, which earned him the Golden Boot.

Salah was a “superhuman being,” according to Slot, who led Anfield under his leadership, but he had not been at his best recently.

There are times when you become human while playing for the club, like with all players around the world,” he said. He has scored so many goals for us, but I’m confident he will. ”

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Salah’s reaction to being left out impressed Slot, whose eighth-placed team takes on Sunderland on Wednesday, according to Slot, who praised his professionalism and said he was not surprised by Salah’s attitude.

That is a typical response from a player who is capable enough to play for us, he said. He has been a great asset to this club for many years and will continue to do so in the future.

A player is obviously unhappy when they aren’t playing, so yeah. I can tell you that he wasn’t the only one who wasn’t content that he wasn’t beginning. ”

Salah had praised his teammates, according to the Dutchman.

If you go with your feelings, you can’t be a player who is available every three days and play to that high standard.

But Mo is so disciplined and knows how to stay in shape, and he will always be that elite professional no matter where he plays or where he doesn’t play. ”

Salah is scheduled to depart for the Africa Cup of Nations on December 15 according to Slot.

In these situations, there are a player involved, Egypt is involved, and the club is involved, as always. And there are discussions ongoing about what works best for all three of us, he added.

Meanwhile, Regis Le Bris, the manager of Sunderland, claimed his players were looking forward to playing at Anfield despite their newly promoted side currently ranking sixth overall.

He said, “We worked hard to have the privilege of playing this kind of game.” We want to live this kind of experience, even though it is a challenging situation and a difficult game. ”

The Frenchman continued, “Liverpool will be strong, the place (Anfield) is impressive, but we also want to be competitive, so we’ll see.” ”

17 local players from South Africa were added to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) squad on Monday, according to South Africa coach Hugo Broos, who will travel to Morocco on December 21.

Most of the 24 contenders will rely heavily on European footballers, with Senegal’s former champions unlikely to include any from their domestic league.

A 28-man list for the world’s biggest football tournament, which includes two reserving spots on the road, Tylon Smith and Shandre Campbell, and three others who will remain in South Africa, was released by the 73-year-old Belgian tactician.

Both Smith and Campbell play for Belgian top-flight outfit Club Brugge, while Campbell plays for English second-tier club Queens Park Rangers.

In an interview with public broadcaster SABC, Broos stated, “Neither player is likely to participate in the tournament, but I want them to experience life as an international football.”

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While playing in the north African kingdom, teams can choose up to 28 players for the biennial event, but only 23 will receive funding from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) while there.

Broos has backed South African Premiership stars in the same way he did for the 2024 World Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast, where Bafana Bafana (The Boys) finished third.

The top two spots are currently held by the national league’s halfway-highs of nine teams, including the Orlando Pirates and the Mamelodi Sundowns, who are currently in the top two.

Mbekezeli Mbokazi, a 20-year-old center-back, is reportedly planning to join Chicago Fire after the AFCON.

Only one of the top five European leagues includes Burnley striker Lyle Foster.

In a quarter-final victory over Cape Verde, the 2024 AFCON squad had 10 survivors, including captain and goalkeeper Ronwen Williams, who saved four penalty shootout kicks.

Broos stated to the SABC that he hopes to “at least reach the semi-finals once more” from his Belgian home.

In Group B, South Africa squares off against Egypt and Zimbabwe, who are seven-time world champions, and record. The top four of the six third-placed sides, along with the winners and losers, advance to the knockout phase.

Squad

Goalkeepers: Ronwen Williams (Capt. Melodi Sundowns), Ricardo Goss (Siwelele), Sipho Chaine (Orlando Pirates).

Defenders: Mbekezeli Mbokazi, Nkosinathi Sibisi (both pirates), Aubrey Modiba, Khuliso Mudau (both sundowns), Samukele Kabini (NOR), Thabang Matuludi (Polokwane City), Khulumani Ndamane (TS Galaxy), and Siyabonga Ngezana (FCSB/ROM).

Oswin Appollis, Thalenthe Mbatha, Sipho Mbule, Relebohile Mofokeng (all Pirates), Bathusi Aubaas, Teboho Mokoena (both Sundowns), Elias Mokwana (Al Hazem/KSA), and Sphephelo Sithole (Tondela/POR) are the midfielders.

Forwards: Tshepang Moremi, Lyle Foster, Evidence Makgopa, and Mohau Nkota (Al Ettifaq/KSA), both from Burnley/ENG.

Tylon Smith (Queens Park Rangers/ENG), and Shandre Campbell (Club Brugge/BEL) are frequent guests.

Non-traveling companions: Mduduzi Shabalala (Kaizer Chiefs), Iqraam Rayners (Sundowns), and Thabo Moloisane (Stellenbosch).

Hugo Broos (BEL) as the coach

Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City, stated on Monday that he was unsure about Rodri’s fitness until he was fully recovered from action.

Due to a hamstring issue, Rodriguez missed the majority of last season with a knee injury, appearing only once in City’s final 10 games before retiring.

The 29-year-old is unable to play in the home match against Sunderland on Saturday because of his absence from Tuesday’s Premier League game against Fulham.

When asked if Rodri was available for a press conference on Monday that lasted just a few minutes, Guardiola replied, “No, not yet.”

Guardiola responded, “I don’t know, I’m not sure if I could play this weekend.” ”

Gianluigi Donnarumma, who was booked for a fourth time in his short City career in the final-gasp 3-2 victory over Leeds on Saturday, was another subject of conversation from Guardiola.

Donnarumma was accused of feigning injury, which allowed Guardiola to deliver a crucial team talk by Leeds manager Daniel Farke. The Italian is currently only one yellow card away from a suspension.

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He has many bookings, Guardiola said, and yes, he has many. It is what it is, he said. ”

When asked if he had spoken to Donnarumma about it, he replied, “No. ”

After their impressive 2-1 victory over Tottenham, Guardiola was more interested in discussing Marco Silva’s work as manager of Fulham.

Guardiola remarked, “Marco has spent many, many years there and always (when we have been there) — really, really tough games, difficult.”

The organization is exceptional, and I always feel like the ball is coming out on top. A tough, tough opponent.

It’s always so, so difficult for the opponents to break them apart, I recall watching the games yesterday and today against Chelsea, Arsenal, and the final games against SunderlaI. In this stunning stadium in London (Craven Cottage), things have always been like that. ”

Before Tuesday’s crucial match against Atletico Madrid, Barcelona coach Hansi Flick expressed his relief at seeing some injured players recover from injury.

With a 3-1 defeat of Alaves on Saturday, Barca moved to the top of La Liga, while Atletico is only three points clear.

After missing more than a month with a hamstring issue, Pedri made his first appearance for the team on Saturday as a substitute.

Frenkie de Jong, who missed the Alaves game due to family reasons, and he and Diego Simeone are in line to start against Diego Simeone’s rugged outfit.

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“I’m really happy,” he declared. We are returning, so maybe we can raise our game. Flick acknowledged that Uruguayan center-back Ronald Araujo is out, but he said that this was the most crucial factor on Monday.

The German has been criticized for a number of abominable displays, not least of which came in the Catalans’ most famous games, including 3-0 defeat to Chelsea and 2-1 reverses against Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain.

Flick acknowledged that Barca needs to improve despite being the top club.

He admitted, “I am aware that we are not in top form like we were last season.” However, we have potential. And we must raise our bar.”