The Nigeria’s senior men’s national team will be without defender Calvin Bassey for their upcoming international friendlies against Iran national football team and Jordan national football team after he withdrew from the squad due to a back injury.
The Nigeria Football Federation confirmed that Bassey pulled out ahead of the team’s preparations for the double-header fixtures scheduled to take place in Antalya.
The Super Eagles opened camp on Tuesday, with 22 players already in attendance by Wednesday. All invited players participated in the first training session except Bassey, whose absence was officially attributed to injury concerns.
Meanwhile, there was a boost for the squad as captain Wilfred Ndidi has now joined the team, strengthening preparations as they gear up for the friendlies.
Nigeria will take on Iran on Friday at 4:00 p.m. before facing Jordan on Monday, March 31, in their second match.
The fixtures mark the team’s first games since securing a third-place finish at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, as the Super Eagles begin a new phase of international engagements.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. On the back of domestic engagement since 2008, he began his international career journey at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
