The Super Eagles host Seychelles in a dead-rubber 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier before a friendly against Egypt also at the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba a few days. 

On Monday, March 4, Rohr’s squad ahead of the games was unveiled with a slew of surprises. 

These are five things we learnt from the squad

While Kelechi Iheanacho has been stagnant for quite some time now, Super Eagles boss Rohr has been one of his biggest supporters. It was Iheanacho who scored the goal to give the Super Eagles the win in Rohr’s first game in charge and since then, the German has been loyal to the Leicester City man. 

But the loyalty couldn’t stand Iheanacho’s rapid decline which has seen him unable to make an impact at Leicester City. For the games against Seychelles and Egypt, Rohr has decided to leave out Iheanacho to go with other in-form options. 

John Mikel Obi’s international repose continued with his exclusion from the Super Eagles squad for national team duties later in the month. Mikel has not played for the Super Eagles since the 2018 FIFA World Cup. He isn’t retired yet and both him and Rohr have always maintained that he is still part of the team. 

But despite settling well at Middlesbrough, Mikel has decided to continue to stay away from national team duties. 

For the goalkeeping department, Rohr stuck with his familiar options-Francis Uzoho, Ikechukwu Ezenwa and Daniel Akpeyi - a clear sign of the continued lack of solid options for Rohr in that department. 

Uzoho has had to change clubs this season from Elche in Spain to Anorthosis Famagusta where he has been unable to play since his debut in Cyprus. While Ezenwa and Akpeyi have been consistent for their new clubs (Katsina United F.C and Kaizer Chiefs respectively) they have not shown enough to suggest they have enough quality to be Super Eagles goalkeepers. 

Paul Onuachu has been one of the most Nigerian consistent players in Europe. This season, he has stepped it up a notch with 17 goals in 29 games. No Nigerian player has that kind of number anywhere in world football. 

With this kind of form, a national team call up was always going to come and Rohr has taken his form into consideration and given him his debut call up. 

Super Eagles boss Rohr paid attention to the Flying Eagles campaign at the recently concluded U20 AFCON where Nigeria finished fourth. 

In truth, the Flying Eagles didn’t impress in Nigeria but had defensive solidity that carried them all the way to the semifinal. 

Valentine Ozornwafor caught the eyes in Flying Eagles at the tournament and the Enyimba defender has been rewarded with a call up to the Super Eagles.