Goalkeeper Maduka Okoye has been recalled to the Nigeria squad ahead of this week's CAF 2026 FIFA World Cup Play-off Tournament in Morocco after serving a two-month suspension for his part in an illegal betting scheme.
The Udinese goalkeeper, who faced a ban of up to four years for sporting fraud, was accused of purposefully receiving a yellow card for time-wasting in the 64th minute of a Serie A match between his club Udinese and Lazio, with Udinese up 2-1.
Authorities flagged a rush of suspicious betting activity centred on the goalkeeper receiving a yellow card, which allegedly generated over €120,000 in winning bets at 8/1 odds with the majority of the bets were based around the provinces of the city of Udine.
Okoye, along with three friends, were placed under investigation. In the end, the 25-year-old, who has won18 senior caps for Nigeria, escaped serious punishment and was handed only a two-month ban, which needed in October.
The former Watford goalkeeper returns amid growing questions about the temperament and form of current first choice goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali during the qualifiers, with some even calling for the Chippa United goalkeeper to be dropped.
Nwabali has been involved in various clashes with opposition players, barely escaping bookings that had the potential to compromise his availability.
All of these sparked calls for the recall of Okoye, and his return offers coach Eric Sekou Chelle a reliable and immediate back up.
Okoye aside, in naming his 24-man roster, Chelle has stuck majorly with the players who executed the last few games of the series, led by captain William Troost-Ekong, midfielder Alex Iwobi and star forward Victor Osimhen, although winger Chidera Ejuke has also been recalled.
Also in are exciting young defender Benjamin Fredericks, midfielders Frank Onyeka and Wilfred Ndidi, and forwards Samuel Chukwueze and Ademola Lookman.
Defender SemiAjayi, who is suspended for one game after accumulating two yellow cards in the 10-match qualifying campaign, will miss the clash on Thursday, but is expected to be available for the Final if the Super Eagles get past Gabon's Panthers.
Most of the players have already arrived the team's training base in Rabat ahead of the fixture, although early controversy popped up on Monday when midfielder Iwobi, who recently earned his 89th cap for Nigeria, stirred a social media storm by posting a silent video of the view from his room, which viewers interpreted as him commenting on a substandard hotel.
The post immediately led to criticism of the NFF and calls for a change in lodgings for the Super Eagles. It is unclear if that led to officials speaking with the midfielder, but within hours, he posted a clarification on Snapchat, saying he meant nothing by the post.
"Life is all about perspective," Iwobi said on his Snapchat post. "Because I snapped the view I had, people are thinking this guy is ungrateful. I never said one thing. In life, some people don't have yards, some people don't have beds.
"I am comfy, I am playing Mario Cart. Let me go and focus, man. I got a big game coming up."
Nigeria will take on Gabon in the first semi-final scheduled for the 22,000-capacity Complexe Sportif Prince Heritier Moulay Al Hassan in Rabat, with Cameroon confronting the Democratic Republic of Congo in the other semi-final at the 18,000-capacity El-Barid Stadium, also in Rabat.
The winners of the semifinal meet in the final with the champion proceeding to the intercontinental playoff, where they will contest for two tickets to the World Cup.
Super Eagles squad
Goalkeepers: Stanley Nwabali (Chippa United, South Africa); Amas Obasogie (Singida Blackstars, Tanzania); Maduka Okoya (Udinese FC, Italy)
Defenders: William Ekong (Al-Kholood, Saudi Arabia); Calvin Bassey (Fulham FC, England); Oluwasemilogo Ajayi (Hull City, England); Bright Osayi-Samuel (Birmingham City, England); Bruno Onyemaechi (Olympiakos, Greece); Chidozie Awaziem (Nantes FC, France); Zaidu Sanusi (FC Porto, Portugal); Benjamin Fredericks (Dender FC, Belgium)
Midfielders: Alex Iwobi (Fulham FC, England); Frank Onyeka (Brentford FC, England); Alhassan Yusuf Abdullahi (New England Revolution, USA); Wilfred Ndidi (Besiktas FC, Turkey); Raphael Onyedika (Club Brugge, Belgium)
Forwards: Ademola Lookman (Atalanta BC, Italy); Samuel Chukwueze (Fulham FC, England); Victor Osimhen (Galatasaray FC, Turkey); Simon Moses (Paris FC, France); Chidera Ejuke (Sevilla FC, Spain); Tolu Arokodare (Wolverhampton Wanderers, England); Akor Adams (Sevilla FC, Spain); Olakunle Olusegun (Pari Nizhny Novgorod, Russia)