Nigeria is set to face Iran and Jordan in the four-nation invitational friendly tournament in Turkey, and Coach Eric Chelle is using the opportunity to introduce players to the team. Maiden call-ups for the trio of Yira Sor, Philip Otele, and Emmanuel Oluwasegun Fernandez was met with surprise, and we look into the profile of the new Eagles.
KRC Genk’s 25 years old winger developed at 36 Lions and Family Love Academy in Nigeria. He worked his way up to Czech Republic’s top club Slavia Prague in 2021, before earning a €6 million move to Genk in 2023 on the back of excellent performances, especially in Europe. Sor has become an important first team player this season with 39 appearances in all competitions. He has 4 goals and 1 assist in 24 league matches, and also played a key role in the club’s Europa League run to the round of 16. The former Flying Eagle is primarily a left winger with extreme speed (39 Km/h on GPS) putting him in the top 10 of fastest active footballers, second only to veteran Moses Simon in the Eagles. He is also known for his direct style, attributes that can be useful to unlock a stubborn opponent, or add more gloss in matches Nigeria has a healthy lead and tired legs.
Another winger, Otele famously trained with Arsenal’s academy at 14 years old before his sojourn in Lithuania, and Romania where he finished the league’s joint top scorer at CFR Cluj in his 2023 breakthrough season propelled him to better opportunities. A move to UAE truncated the promising attacker, but Otele returned to Switzerland where his nine goals and four assists helped win the Swiss Super League title with Basel. His positive performances have continued this season, earning him a loan move to Hamburg in February, where he his stock has continued to rise, catching the attention of Nigeria. Despite his 6ft frame, Otele is known as an unpredictable winger who combines speed, dribbling and goalscoring instincts to standout as a unusual winger.
Fernandez comes along with Nigeria is still searching for Calvin Bassey’s perfect partner since William Troost Ekong retired. Semi Ajayi and Chinedu Awaziem seem like tiring legs, but Fernandez cones it at 25 years old and could be the solution. He is a ball-playing defender with an average 87% pass completion rate, and wins majority of his aerial duels. He is also known to seek tackles, and his more appreciated by fans for his goals from set pieces, netting five times in 21 matches. The rugged defender cut his teeth in the rugged, lower tier of English football before a surprise, high profile switch to Glasgow Rangers in June 2025, and he has quickly become a fans’ favourite. Fernandez could be set to beat the young defenders jostling for the coveted slot beside Bassey.