Nigeria’s Flying Eagles will head to the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile without some of their top young talents after European clubs refused to release players.
French side Stade Reims and German club Hoffenheim turned down requests from the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), as the competition is not on FIFA’s official calendar, meaning clubs are not obliged to release players.
As a result, Hoffenheim duo Emmanuel Chukwu and Precious Benjamin, as well as Stade Reims striker Ibrahim Hafiz, will all miss the tournament. The three players were seen as key prospects for the team.
Head coach Aliyu Zubairu has now named his final 21-man squad, leaving out several overseas-based players. Enyimba winger Clinton Jephta, along with Bidemi Amole and Divine Oliseh—who featured at the WAFU B qualifiers in Togo—were also omitted.
Captain Daniel Bameyi leads the squad, which includes more than 10 players who have been part of recent training camps and friendlies. New faces such as Israel Ayuma, Ebenezer Harcourt, Charles Agada, Auwal Ibrahim, Kparobo Arierhi, Tahir Maigana, and Odinaka Okoro have been added.
Defender Adamu Maigari misses out due to a knee injury, while Norway-based midfielder Daniel Daga is expected to join the squad in Chile ahead of their opening game.
The team left Abuja for Chile on Sunday night, aiming to make history by winning the U-20 World Cup for the first time. Nigeria have twice reached the final, in 1989 and 2005, but lost on both occasions.
At the last edition in Argentina in 2023, the Flying Eagles were knocked out in the quarter-finals by South Korea.
This year’s tournament runs from 27 September to 20 October.