Benedict Akwuegbu, a former Nigeria striker, has voiced his desire for the recall of Ahmed Musa and Kelechi Iheanacho to the Super Eagles squad, Completesports.com reports.
Iheanacho has recently been frozen out of the Eagles set-up, but is turning out well for EFL Championship side Middlesbrough as a loanee from Sevilla while Musa, who rejoined his boyhood club, Kano Pillars, from Turkish club, Sivasspor, has been in impressive form for the Sai Masu Gida side.
Also Read: Super Eagles Move Up One Spot In Latest FIFA Ranking
Speaking from his base in London, United Kingdom, on Thursday morning, Akwuegbu told Completesports.com that the two players remain crucial to the Nigeria’s bid to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, the USA, and Canada.
“Ahmed Musa and Kelechi Iheanacho should be recalled to the Super Eagles. They are experienced and in good form at the moment for their respective clubs,” Akwuegbu began.
“If Musa can perform so well for Kano Pillars despite the physical challenges of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), I believe he is still relevant to the Super Eagles’ quest for the 2026 World Cup ticket.
“He has skill, and he is scoring for his team. That is what the Super Eagles need right now—players with experience—and this is where Musa and Iheanacho come in.
Also Read: Super Eagles Move Up One Spot In Latest FIFA Ranking
“They should be invited for the next World Cup qualifiers. They still have a role to play in the Super Eagles’ World Cup campaign,” Akwuegbu stressed.
The Chairman of the Plateau State Chapter of the Professional Footballers Association of Nigeria (PFAN) further reiterated his confidence that Nigeria will not miss out on the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals.
“I am confident that the Super Eagles will qualify for the World Cup. There are still four games to play. We can win three of them, and with the likes of Ahmed Musa and Kelechi Iheanacho adding quality to the team, I strongly believe the Super Eagles will be at the World Cup in 2026,” the former Heartland Assistant General Manager stated.
By Sab Osuji
21 Comments
Im confident Musa and Ihenacho can add value to the SE despite the challenges they are facing club wise. Musa and ihenacho are two players who like Osihmen always give their all when playing for SE.. Players like chukueze can drop to the bench while muSa or ihenacho play the role behind the strikers and the SE will be balanced.
My guy, perish that thought a beg. Iheanacho and Musa are no longer effective. Why anyone in their right mind would call for these two is beyond ridiculous. Where does it stop? Shehu Abdullahi is still playing. Even Brown Ideye is still active, should we call them too? Rubbish.
Let the coach try fresh legs.
wat about Eba Afeshelu?
Where is that guy? We av really miss him in csn o
Amala pls tell your guy Eba to show face arand here again pls
Hmm! Funny. To come and do what???
Not them coming to start games atleast bringing them back as leaders which is what this team is lacking, they just joke around and catch vibes. We need people to always remind them the importance and huge expectations playing for SE
It won’t be better for anyone that suggest we recall MUSA and Iheanacho to the team . What the heck? Are we normal in this country at all ? At a time we need to discard the services of players like papa Daniel, Aribo, Yussuf, Ekong , and even Ndindi. We don’t need experience all we need are good footballers . What experience did Spain had with the current team that won them Euro . Get good players on the field and they would win you matches once they are committed
@Respect is Reciprocal… how do you know Papa Daniel is not a good player? He was the best player on the CHAN team… he was not even given a minute of game time. What makes you think he may not be a better ball player than even Alex Iwobi? Zimbabwe used mostly obscure local players to deflate the egos of our so-called foreign pros… it’s time we begin to give the local-based players their due respect… only about four players in the current Eagles team are of commendable quality… the rest of them are junkly average players…
The Papa Daniel I saw against Ghana is better than all the midfielders in the super eagles!
He needs just one game to prove himself..
Absolutely. God bless u my brother@Greenturf
@Greenturf… thanks brother. The days of thinking because we have players abroad, we would just smack African teams are gone. I can bet that Super Eagles will not beat NPFL best eleven…
Papa Daniel that I also saw is a better player than Iwobi and Ndidi combined in the game against Zim. That guy showed Ghana pepper home and away and made sure we qualified but I wonder what happens in training whether they use Jazz to blindfold the coaches from seeing new good players.
Iwobi is using low keyed EPL form to deceive the coaches. Nevertheless Ndidi is far better than Iwobi any day.
Hey, Bro! Papa Daniel might be doing bits in his own corner, and no one’s knocking that. But let’s be real—there’s a massive gulf between CHAN performances and the intensity of AFCON or World Cup qualifiers. Those tournaments are a different beast entirely—higher stakes, more technical quality, and massive pressure.
You can shine in CHAN qualifiers or local league games, but until you step into that one high-stakes competitive match, we can’t confidently say you’re better than our established midfielders who have tasted all kinds of high octane competitions and tournaments.
It’s like comparing someone killing it in rehearsal with someone who’s been on tour performing to sold-out crowds. One might have potential, but the other has pedigree and proof. So yeah, let’s not rush to conclusions till the boy proves himself under fire.
God bless you and your pool of wisdom Papafem.
A player who couldn’t cut it in the Turkish 2nd division, ran back to the NPFL after 1 season and has been hawked around the backwaters of Europe and North Africa since December, trialling from club to club with clubs not showing interest in him, is suddenly better than Ndidi and Iwobi and all other midfielders combined, simply because he played well against Ghana’s home-based players who by the way couldn’t qualify for CHAN…….LMAOooo……Really….?!
Some Nigerian fans and their legendary delusions of grandeur.
They will characteristically compare an elementary school kid who just won the spelling bee competition among elementary schools in his district with a Literary Nobel Laureate…..LMAOooo
@Papafem… please save it. Homebased players from other countries are humiliating our so-called foreign stars. Papa Daniel will start for Zimbabwe and destroy our midfield if he were to be from that country.
…and still remain bottom of our WCQ till the last day……LMAOOooo..
Even Zimbabwe lined up their foreign-based professionals first, before filling the remaining slots in their lineups with ‘home-based’ players
@Dr.Drey… nobody needs the sort of overhyped foreign based who all but know not what leg to select to shoot balls and score from 6yards out like Ndidi and Iwobi… lol. May I equally ask… how many foreign-based did Lesotho lined up againt you in Uyo please? Hahaha… foreign stars playing dustbin football. Abegi…
Hahahaha…….And where is Lesotho in the hierarchy of African football after drawing Nigeria in Uyo….LMAOoo. What short-sightedness.
You would rather line up “overrated” home-based players who needed to camp for 3 months to qualify for CHAN after 6 years right…..LMAOoo. Your Papa Daniel has barely played in the NPFL this year because he has been trialling all over Europe and North Africa with NOTHING to show for it…..LMAOooo. He was so messianic in Turkey that he had to run back home after 1 season in the lower division
Yea, Lesotho drew Nigeria in Uyo, yet Nigeria’s chances of qualifying for the same WC even though in ICU at the moment is currently the sun’s lumen brighter than Lesotho’s. Just as CAR defeated Nigeria in Lagos yet couldn’t qualify for the AFCON at the end of the day. To you, the likes of Lesotho and CAR getting some unexpected once-off results against Nigeria means the calibre of players they parade is what we too should start parading…..LMAOoo
Folks like you would rather wish Nigeria was a “once-off” results team like Lesotho, Zimbabwe or CAR that never proceed beyond getting an unexpected draw/win vs big teams than be that team that is always in contention for everything on the continent…..LMAOo
We are sorry ehn, but we would rather stick with our foreign stars and their dustbin football than dance to your myopic tunes of parading failed Turkish division-esque calibre of players in our national team and getting reduced to a team that celebrates one occasional upset victory annually.
Aren’t you 5th on the table?
@Jimmyball, my guy, I see where you’re coming from—but allow me to add this:
You say “homebased players from other countries are humiliating our foreign stars.” Okay, but let’s not act like those players just rolled off the Molue and stumbled into the national team setup. Many of these so-called “homebased” players in other African countries have been in their national teams longer than some of our “foreign stars” have been in Europe. They’ve gained invaluable experience because their countries don’t have a luxury buffet of foreign-based professionals like Nigeria does. It’s not by design; it’s by necessity. If they had players balling in Serie A, Ligue 1, or the Premier League, trust me, they wouldn’t think twice before booking them a first-class ticket home.
Now, bring it back to Papa Daniel. Talented? Possibly. But until we see him boss one single competitive game on the level of an AFCON, AFCONQ, WC or WCQ, all this hype is basically premium soft work. You can’t tell me he’s better than all our midfielders when he hasn’t had one real test at that level. That’s like saying someone who dominates five-a-side every Sunday at Ojuelegba should start ahead of Ndidi because “he dey throw pass.”
Also, let’s be honest, if Papa Daniel was Zimbabwean, maybe—maybe—he gets into their midfield. But Zimbabwe is not Nigeria. Our depth is insane. We don’t just have one or two foreign-based midfielders; we’ve got a full orchestra. From the Premier League to Serie A, to the Bundesliga—we’re stacked like Agege bread in traffic. So comparing our situation to Zimbabwe’s is like comparing Boli at a street corner to shawarma in Lekki. Both are edible, but let’s not pretend they cost the same.
Let Papa Daniel cook. Let him earn his stripes. But please, let’s not crown him king of the midfield based on vibes and CHAN stats. Football at the top level is not a Nollywood audition. It’s war. And you don’t send fresh recruits to lead the front line while experienced generals are sipping Kunu on the bench. After all, Eric Chelle saw him in training for 5 days. Why didn’t he feild him in any of the two matches if he was “better than” all the midfielders in comp?
If anything, Papa Daniel’s big audition should’ve come in a friendly—not in a high-stakes World Cup qualifier where one wrong pass could set the entire country into a year-long social media meltdown. That’s what test matches are for. The upcoming 4-nation tournament in London next month would’ve been the perfect runway for a player like him to show what he’s got against decent opposition, with no pressure of qualification hanging over his head like NEPA bills.
So, my dear @Jimmyball, I gree with your passion, but this your take? E choke small o!
Hahahaha….we are still trying to recover from Finidi foisting a player whose quality cannot earn him a shirt in the English 3rd division down our throat, they want to foist another lower division reject on us on the backdrop of his performance against his fellow plebeians from Ghana……LMAOooo.
Consistency they say is what makes a man. A player’s quality to play at a certain level has always been judged based on his consistent performance at that level, not some once-off showing at the bottom of the pyramid.
Papa Daniel plays against his fellow home-based players from Ghana and all of a sudden he’s better than all SE foreign-based midfielders combined……LMAOoo.
Eric Chelle must be a blind man…..LMAOooo
Chrisanthus Uche of Getafe in Spain is a great player, and I believe this is one versatile talented and consistent player that coach Eric Chelle should immediately invite to the Super Eagles team he is rebuilding. He is capable of playing as a striker, an attacking midfielder, defensive midfielder, and defender. He is just an all round soccer star. In a tough La Liga match I am currently watching, he has provided two goal assists against Valladolid football club. This is certainly not a mean feat.