Hull City and Super Eagles defender Semi Ajayi was included in Eric Chelle’s squad ahead of their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and the Republic of Benin, Soccernet.ng reports.
The three-time AFCON winners have been handed a boost in their qualification journey after South Africa had three points deducted by FIFA due to fielding an ineligible player in their game against Lesotho earlier on in their qualifiers campaign.
As such, Nigeria have to make the most of their remaining two fixtures, although they’ll still need help from elsewhere, even if they win these games.
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Hull boss hands Ajayi’s fitness to Eric Chelle
Semi Ajayi has played just eight minutes of football since the end of August as he suffered a hamstring injury. While his fitness is still in question, he was included in the Super Eagles squad anyway.
Hull City head coach, Sergej Jakirovic, revealed the Nigerian defender continued his fitness journey by playing with the club’s U-21 side, and was in line to feature against Preston North End a few days back, and is now hoping the International break will help the experienced defender return to peak physical form so as to help out his club side.
“Maybe, I don’t know. I hope they all will play something – Semi (Ajayi) and Liam (Millar), and they will return healthy,” the Bosnian manager said in quotes revealed by Hull Daily Mail.
“I’m okay because you cannot stop them. I know that next year is the World Cup, so when it’s the World Cup, everyone is buzzing.
“I hope he (Ajayi) will play something there because he needs it, and Liam as well. Liam is now OK, almost 85 minutes (played in the last two games). He played two games, so it’s good,” the 48-year-old concluded.
Hull City are currently 14th on the EFL Championship table, three points above the relegation spots.