Afrik-Foot‘s Super Eagles Power Rankings feature players who have at some point in their careers and how they have performed for their clubs after the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
- Samuel Chukwueze
Samuel Chukwueze made the switch from Villarreal to AC Milan last summer, and he has not particularly lived up to expectations. Up until March, the Super Eagles winger had scored just once for the Serie A giants (excluding friendlies).
Interestingly, Chukwueze has started to find his stride in recent weeks. He was directly involved in two goals in his last five appearances for the club, scoring once with one assist.
- Taiwo Awoniyi
Taiwo Awoniyi continues to slide down our Super Eagles Power Rankings, and it’s not because he has performed poorly; rather, the Nottingham Forest player has been sidelined for over a month.
While Awoniyi did not participate in the AFCON, he registered a goal and an assist in five appearances since the tournament ended in February.
- Frank Onyeka
Last weekend, Frank Onyeka’s stoppage-time goal doubled Brentford’s lead in their encounter with Sheffield United, ensuring the Bees would go home with all the spoils.
Interestingly, the Super Eagles midfielder had previously not scored a Premier League goal in his career. In fact, Onyeka wasn’t on the field for all of 90 minutes, as he came on just after the 90-minute mark.
- Calvin Bassey
Calvin Bassey put up a solid performance as Fulham claimed three much-needed points on the road vs West Ham last weekend, as his 11 clearances and four tackles helped The Cottagers halt a three-match winless run.
In the two months since the Nations Cup ended, he found the net in a crucial clash against Manchester United, whilst keeping three clean sheets.
- Francis Uzoho
Francis Uzoho had been a regular starter for Omonia Nicosia prior to AFCON 2024, before losing his spot between the sticks to Chippa United’s Stanley Nwabali.
Interestingly, the 25-year-old also lost his starting spot at Omonia Nicosia after the Nations Cup, as he was on the bench for all the club’s games until the first week of March.
However, Uzoho made his first appearance for the club in over three months, after first-choice goalkeeper Fabiano picked up an injury.
The Nigerian shot-stopper has been really solid for the Cypriot side since then, keeping three clean sheets in three games.
- Joe Aribo
On two occasions, Joe Aribo came off the bench to score for Southampton, and one of those goals was the winner in a seven-goal thriller at Birmingham.
Since then, the Super Eagles midfielder has earned his place in the team’s starting XI, but has failed to find the net.
As it stands, Aribo blanked in his last seven appearances for Southampton, even though he started five of those matches. He registered two goals and an assist since AFCON 2024.
- Chidera Ejuke
Chidera Ejuke is another player who has struggled in front of goal these past few weeks.
The Royal Antwerp player was on a purple patch last month, with a goal and two assists in just six days. However, things have not gone well for him since then, as he has no goal involvements in his last four matches.
- Emmanuel Dennis
Like Ejuke, Emmanuel Dennis has not particularly enjoyed his best form lately. After scoring in back-to-back games last month, he has now blanked in four consecutive games.
Dennis will be eyeing his fourth post-AFCON goal when Watford square off against Hull City this weekend.
- Alex Iwobi
While Calvin Bassey was rock-solid in Fulham’s 2-0 victory at West Ham last weekend, Alex Iwobi also played his part, setting up Andreas Pereira’s second goal.
The former Arsenal player has four direct goal involvements since AFCON 2024, scoring twice with two assists.
It’s worth mentioning that one of Iwobi’s assists came in Nigeria’s 2-1 victory over Ghana’s Black Stars last month.
- Raphael Onyedika
Raphael Onyedika makes his first appearance in our Super Eagles Power Rankings due to his stellar performances for Club Brugge in recent weeks.
To put things into perspective, the Super Eagles midfielder joined the Belgian First Division A outfit in August 2022, and up until this month, he had scored just two goals for the club across all competitions.
However, Onyedika has scored three times in his last three matches, which is more than he did in his first 17 months at Club Brugge. He’s starting to peak at the right time, while the First Division A’s Championship Round is in full swing.
- Ademola Lookman
Ademola Lookman proved his worth at the Nations Cup, scoring three times in the knockout stages of the competition.
Although he was sidelined for a couple of weeks after the tournament, the 26-year-old has had four direct goal involvements since then, scoring three times with one assist.
Moreover, Lookman scored in Nigeria’s clash with Ghana last month, which means he has four goals in his last six appearances for the Super Eagles.
- Victor Boniface
Victor Boniface was injured at the Super Eagles camp for AFCON 2024, and because of this, he was unavailable for selection for almost four months.
The Bayer Leverkusen forward picked up where he left off, with three direct goal involvements in four matches since his return.
Boniface registered a goal and an assist last weekend, as Leverkusen won the Bundesliga title for the first time in history.
- Terem Moffi
Terem Moffi did not get enough playing time at the Nations Cup. Cumulatively, he wasn’t on the pitch for 30 minutes throughout the tournament.
However, the Nice forward has been one of the most in-form players in the French top-flight in recent weeks, scoring three times in his last three appearances for the club.
Moffi has scored four Ligue 1 goals since the end of AFCON 2023.
- Cyriel Dessers
Cyriel Dessers made his first appearance for the Super Eagles since September 2022, when he opened the scoring in the team’s victory over the Black Stars of Ghana.
The former Feyenoord striker has been in sensational form for Rangers recently, with a goal and an assist in his last three matches.
Dessers has registered six goals and an assist for club and country since AFCON 2024.
- Victor Osimhen
Victor Osimhen fired his way back to the top of our Super Eagles Power Rankings after scoring in back-to-back games this month.
The Napoli forward did not scored in the month of March, although to be fair, he was sidelined for over a week.
While Osimhen scored just once at the Nations Cup, he has been Nigeria’s top performer since then, scoring seven times with one assist.
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