Sourced news brief · Source report: 2026-10-05
Nigeria’s travelling group for the Russia friendly has been reduced to 18 players after withdrawals, Legit.ng reports. The account attributes the reasons to a Nigeria Football Federation breakdown.
Captain Wilfred Ndidi was ruled out after a knock, while other absences involved injury, club decisions and a residence-permit issue. The reduced group leaves coach Eric Chelle managing a different set of options from his original selection. The reasons should be understood player by player rather than as one explanation for every absence. This brief reports the squad position in the linked article; it does not provide a live team sheet, final score or independent medical assessment.
Source: Legit.ng — original report. Prepared by Aoedus with AI assistance and checked against the linked reporting.
Source featured image. Image credit: Ulrik Pedersen / Getty Images, via Legit.ng. Source image and report.
