Former Nigeria international, Yakubu Aiyegbeni, has raised concerns about the current composition of the Super Eagles, suggesting that the team has an overabundance of defensive midfielders, which affects their ability to control matches.
Ahead of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle included eight midfielders in his final 28-man squad.
The selected players are Alex Iwobi, Frank Onyeka, Wilfred Ndidi, Raphael Onyedika, Tochukwu Nnadi, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, Ebenezer Akinsanmiro, and Usman Muhammed.
Speaking on the Home Turf podcast about the perceived lack of creativity in the team’s midfield, Aiyegbeni said, “We need a proper midfielder who can pass the ball because we have too many defensive midfielders. We have Ndidi and Onyeka, they can only pass the ball sideways. We are lucky Ndidi passed one to Ejuke (against Gabon).”
He continued, “I don’t want to go back in our days. We had Oliseh who can pass the ball, switch the play. We need a creative midfielder who can pass the ball very well, so we are lacking that.
“That’s the most important thing for us, we don’t have it. We don’t dominate games. We need a proper midfielder who can change and dominate the game.”
