Iwobi equals legendary CB Stephen Keshi and eight other things to note on Super Eagles starting XI

Super Eagles manager Jose Peseiro has announced his starting lineup for the 2026 World Cup qualifying match against Zimbabwe at the Huye Stadium, Butare.

Allnigeriasoccer.com's editorial staff  brings you nine things to note on the starting lineup to face the Warriors.

1) Jose Peseiro has made six changes from the side held to a 1-1 draw by Lesotho, inserting Ola Aina, Bruno Onyemaechi, Nathan Tella, Moses Simon, Joe Aribo and Terem Moffi.

2) The eleven players selected in the starting lineup have an average age of 25.82 years, with Semi Ajayi the oldest at 30 years and Calvin Bassey the youngest at 23 years.

3) Arsenal academy product Nathan Tella will be officially cap-tied to Nigeria barring an injury in the pre-match warm up. The Bayer Leverkusen winger was eligible to play international football for his country of birth, England before he was named in the starting lineup.

4) Four players named in Nigeria's provisional squad to the 2018 World Cup will start against the Warriors: goalkeeper Francis Uzoho, defender Ola Aina, midfielder Alex Iwobi and forward Moses Simon.

5) Southampton midfielder Joe Aribo starts a competitive game for the Super Eagles since a 3-2 win against Sierra Leone in a 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on June 18, 2023.

6) Fulham midfielder Alex Iwobi, who earns his 68th cap today, equals legendary centre-back Stephen Keshi as the eighth-most capped player for the national team, behind Ahmed Musa, Vincent Enyeama, Joseph Yobo, Obi Mikel, Nwankwo Kanu, Muda Lawal and Austin Jay-Jay Okocha.

7) Seven of the starters have ties to English clubs. Semi Ajayi, Alex Iwobi and Nathan Tella previously played for Arsenal's youth teams before moving on to pastures new. Ola Aina, Calvin Bassey, Frank Onyeka and Joe Aribo are currently on the books of Nottingham Forest, Fulham, Brentford and Southampton respectively.

8) Moses Simon will captain the side in the absence of Ahmed Musa and William Troost-Ekong. 

9) Goalkeeper Francis Uzoho makes his seventh start for the Super Eagles in 2023, more than any other player in the squad.

Nigeria's starting XI: Uzoho; Aina, Ajayi, Bassey, Onyemaechi; Onyeka, Iwobi, Tella, Moses Simon; Aribo, Moffi

Substitutes:  Obasogie, Ojo, Osayi-Samuel, Boniface, Iheanacho,Umar, Awaziem, Collins, Omeruo, Loookman, Onyedika

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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