Meet Your Super Eagles DEFENDERS

Name: Brian Oladapo Idowu



Place of Birth : Saint Petersburg(Russia)

Age: 26

Position(s): Left back/Left Wing-back.

Current Club: Amkar Perm(Russia)

Height: 1.80m(5 ft 11 in)

Jersey Number: 2

Raised in Russia and it will be an international competitive event at home for the wing-back as he is saddled with the responsibility of making Super Eagles feel at home especially in terms of language interpretation,acclamatization with the weather and travelling.

Strength: Pacy and well suited for a 3-5-2 formation especially as a flank midfielder.

Weakness: Poor as a left fullback,terrible as a ball crosser and more right footed than general thought.

Name: Elderson Echiejile

Place of Birth: Benin City(Nigeria)

Age : 30

Position(s): Left back

Current club: Cercle Brugge(Belgium)

Height: 1.84m(6 ft 0 in)

Jersey Number: 3

The former Sporting Braga left back is an experienced international campaigner and the most capped defender in the current Super Eagles.

Echiejile was part of the less impressive South Africa 2010 squad,won the Afcon in 2013 as the player that covered the most distance and was unlucky as he missed the last FIFA world cup due to injury in an exhibition match against Greece.

Strength: He is an asset for an inexperienced backline for international football. Knows his limit and doesn’t overlap especially against tough customers.

Weakness: A disadvantage to an attacking team,has regressed massively and not productive for the modern game.

Name: William Paul Troost-Ekong



Place of Birth: Harlem(Netherlands)

Age: 24

Position(s): Centre back

Current Club: Bursaspor(Turkey)

Height: 1.91m(6 ft 3 in)

Jersey Number: 5

The Dutch born defender is ever present in the team in which no other player come close to!

Ekong came into international reconing by winning bronze medal with the dream team in 2016 and has not look back since.

Ekong is the only player in the team to have played if not all the matches under Coach Gernot Rohr and the former Tottenham youth player had a leadership treatment when he captain the team in the 1-0 exhibition victory over Poland.

Strength: Fearless,Strong,So Vocal,Doesn’t take unnecessary risk and can cover for other defenders in difficult situations.

Weakness: Lack Experience and not the best passer from the back.

Name : Leon Aderemi Balogun

Place of Birth: West Berlin(Germany)



Age: 29

Position(s): Centre Back,Right Back

Current Club: Brighton and Hove Albion(England)

Height: 1.90m(6 ft 3 in)

Jersey Number: 6

Balogun will be playing his first international tournament at the age of 29.

The Brighton and Hove defender unfortunately missed out of the opportunity to represent Nigeria on the grandest stage of football due to a foot injury he sustained against Mexico in a friendly.

He Captained the team in their last qualifying match in Algiers.

Strength: Best ball playing defender in the team who loves bringing the ball out and making surging runs.

Weakness: Pace is becoming his antidote and he is prone to injury.

Name: Shehu Abdullahi



Place of Birth: Sokoto(Nigeria)

Age: 25

Position(s): Right back,Defensive midfield

Current Club: Bursaspor(Turkey)

Height: 1.82m(6 ft 0 in)

Jersey Number : 12

Abdullahi rose through the ranks playing for Nigeria U-20,won an Olympic bronze and was spectacular in 2014 when Nigeria finished third at the Championship of African Nations(CHAN).

Shehu was named Man of the match in the 1-0 victory over Zambia and that secured Nigeria’s qualification for FIFA world cup.

His yellow cards accumulation led to Super Eagles losing final qualification match in the board room as he was adjudged ineligible.

Strength : A passionate patriot who could play as a midfielder and right back.

Weakness: Lack mobility to play as a modern wingback,predictable in build-ups as he shows more of the ball to the oppositions and do come to the midfield too much forgetting his primary role in the process.

Name: Chidozie Collins Awaziem

Place of Birth: Enugu(Nigeria)

Age: 21

Position(s): Centre back,Right back

Current Club: FC Nantes(France)

Height: 1.92m(6 ft 4 in)

Jersey Number: 20

The FC Porto defender had a decent season with former Leicester City Boss Claudio Ranieri at Nantes and he is highly rated by Super Eagles manager,Gernot Rohr.

Strength: Brave defender,a good passer(his long balls provided two goals against Argentina in November) and a freekick specialist.

Weakness: Lack of Experience and Good fortunes in National colours.

Name: Tyronne Ebuehi



Place of Birth: Haarlem(Netherlands)

Age: 22

Position(s): Right back,Right wing-back

Current Club: SL Benfica(Holland)

Height: 1.87m(6 ft 2 in)

Jersey Number: 21

Recently put pen to paper for Benfica,Tyronne is one of the youngest players in the team and a great student of Dutch football.

Frame can deceive but talent cannot and it is looking like he has held down the right defensive side.

Strength: Pace,World-Class Marking,Good crossing technique and Grade 'A' positioning.

Weakness: Relatively unknown and always run out of steam very early.

Name: Kenneth Omeruo

Place of Birth: Abia State(Nigeria)

Age: 24

Position(s): Centre back,Right back

Current Club: Kasimpasa(Turkey)

Height: 1.85m(6 ft 1 in)

Jersey Number: 22

Came into limelight after a great defensive input in 2009 FIFA U-17 Championship by which the Golden Eaglets were runner-up.

Kenneth showed his class in three senior international competitions between 2013 and 2014 where he stood his ground against elite strikers like Didier Drogba,Edison Cavani,Luis Suarez,Edin Dzeko and others.

Strength: Smart tackler/ball winner,Experienced,Physical Trojan.

Weakness : Slow pace,Error prone and Average Aerial prowess.