Forward Asisat Oshoala and defender Ashleigh Plumptre are among the players who have withdrawn from Nigeria's squad for their 2028 Olympic qualifiers against Comoros, with MK Dons Women captain Favour Omenazu and Belarus-based forward Blessing Okpe among the replacements.
A statement from the Nigeria Football Federation said Plumptre, who had been recalled after missing the 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations through injury, asked to be excused because of a ligament injury. The NFF said Oshoala, the six-time African Player of the Year, also requested to be excused, although the federation did not provide a reason for that request.
Also unavailable, according to the NFF, are Benfica defender Oluwatosin Demehin and forward Flourish Sabastine, who are said to be dealing with residency permit requirements in Portugal, further reducing the squad interim coach Austin Eguavoen initially selected for the qualifiers.
Eguavoen has also released Oluwakemi Adegbuyi and Favour Nkwocha to join Nigeria's under-17 women's team ahead of the FIFA Under-17 Women's World Cup in Morocco. Adegbuyi was named the most valuable player at the recent WAFU-B Under-17 Girls Cup, while Nkwocha was part of Nigeria's squad at the Under-20 Women's World Cup in Poland.
The withdrawals leave Eguavoen needing to reshape his squad just days before Friday's first leg at the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne, where both matches of the second-round tie will be played.
To replace some of the missing players, the former Nigeria captain has brought in Omenazu and former Nigeria Under-20 forward Okpe.
Omenazu's call-up gives her an opportunity to break into the senior national team while Okpe arrives after a productive spell in Belarus. The 22-year-old former Rivers Angels player joined Dnepr Mogilev from Dinamo Minsk in April and has been among the club's leading scorers this season. She previously represented Nigeria at the 2022 FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup.
Beyond the playing squad, there have also been changed in the Super Falcons back room staff. Sources have told ESPN that Dr. Terry Eguaoje, the NFF's head of coaching education, has been added to Eguavoen's technical team for the Comoros qualifiers. Eguaoje is also a coach educator with US Soccer and has been heavily involved in the NFF's coaching education programs.
Eguaoje joins Christopher Danjuma, head coach of Nigeria Women Football League club Nasarawa Amazons, as one of Eguavoen's assistants, alongside former Super Falcons defender Ayisat Yusuf with Olatunji Baruwa as goalkeeper coach.
Brenda Shima has also been brought into the Super Falcons backroom team, replacing MaryCathryn Akinsola as the team's media officer.
Nigeria received a bye into the second round of Olympic qualifying as one of the three highest-ranked teams in the competition, while Comoros came through the opening round with a 30-0 aggregate victory over Sudan.
Both legs against Nigeria will be played at Remo Stars Stadium because Comoros does not have a Confederation of African Football-approved venue for international matches. The first is scheduled for Friday, October 9, with the return on Tuesday, October 13.
The Super Falcons are attempting to qualify for successive Olympic tournaments after returning to the competition at Paris 2024 following a 16-year absence. Nigeria secured that place by beating South Africa 1-0 on aggregate in the final qualifying round, having last appeared at the Olympics in Beijing in 2008.
Getting back to the Games will require another lengthy qualifying run. Africa has two places at Los Angeles 2028, with four knockout rounds determining the qualifiers. Victory over Comoros would send Nigeria into the third round, where either Morocco or the Democratic Republic of Congo lie in wait.