Nigeria Professional Football League top scorer Stephen Odey of MFM FC tops the list of 30 players invited by Super Eagles coach Salisu Yusuf for next month’s 2018 African Nations Championship qualifying fixture against Togo or Benin Republic.

Togo and Benin will face off with the winners meeting Nigeria in the next round.Odey has scored 16 goals so far for MFM in the NPFL this season.Also called up for the qualifier are Kano Pillars veteran Rabiu Ali, Enyimba'sMfonUdoh and FC IfeanyiUbah's Prince Aggreh.Yusuf also named SikiruOlatubosun and Alhassan Ibrahim, who were both recently involved with the main Super Eagles squad, as well as former youth internationals IfeanyiIfeanyi, OsasOkoro and 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup-winning goalkeeper Dele Ajiboye of Plateau United.Nigeria won bronze in their debut CHAN outing in South Africa in 2014 but failed to qualify from the group stages in Rwanda in 2016.The first leg will take place on the weekend of 11th to 13th August in either Cotonou or Lome, and the return leg in Nigeria on Saturday, 19th August.

THE FULL LIST

Goalkeepers:IkechukwuEzenwa (FC IfeanyiUbah); TheophilusAfelokhai (Enyimba FC), OkiemuteOdah (Lobi Stars), Dele Ajiboye (Plateau United)

Defenders:JamiuAlimi (Kano Pillars); Orji Kalu (Rangers International); Stephen Eze (FC IfeanyiUbah); Ariwachukwu Emmanuel (Akwa United); Elisha Golbe (Plateau United); Chima Akas (Enyimba FC); NasiruSani (Katsina United), OsasOkoro (Rangers International), ChineduAjanah (ABS FC)

Midfielders: Hafiz Aremu (Akwa United); EmekaAtuloma (Rivers United); Raphael Ayagwa (Lobi Stars); IfeanyiIfeanyi (Akwa United); Rabiu Ali (Kano Pillars), Samuel Mathias (El-Kanemi Warriors), Alhassan Ibrahim (Akwa United), ChiamakaMadu (Rangers International)

Forwards:MfonUdoh (Enyimba FC); Prince Aggreh (FC IfeanyiUbah); SikiruOlatubosun (MFM FC), Thomas Zenke (Nasarawa United); Austin Oladapo (Gombe United), Stephen Odey (MFM FC); Kingsley Eduwo (Lobi Stars), Sunday Adetunji (Abia Warriors), Ifeanyi George (Rangers International)

Report by Miyen Akiri