Bayer Leverkusen head coach Kasper Hjulmand has expressed disappointment that Nathan Tella was not included in Nigeria’s final 28-man squad for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
Tella, 26, recently returned from a long spell out with injury and was expected by some to make the trip after earlier indications from Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes suggested he would be part of the Super Eagles group. However, Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle opted not to select him in the final roster submitted ahead of the December 11 deadline.
Speaking ahead of Leverkusen’s Bundesliga match against Cologne, Hjulmand acknowledged that keeping Tella during AFCON will benefit the club, but admitted the winger’s omission is a personal disappointment for the player. “This is beneficial for Leverkusen, of course. But Nathan had hopes, real hopes…” he said in an interview with Die Zeit.
Leverkusen will still release other internationals — including Edmond Tapsoba and Ibrahim Maza for AFCON, while Tella remains with the club as they prepare for their remaining fixtures.
Editorial
There is a kind of quiet complexity in the way a footballer’s season can unravel not through failure, but through timing, fitness and perception. Nathan Tella’s omission from Nigeria’s AFCON squad encapsulates just such a narrative a player on the cusp of national elevation, hindered not by lack of talent, but by circumstance.
Kasper Hjulmand’s measured remarks that Tella had “real hopes” are as much an expression of sympathy as they are a recognition of the intersection between club and country interests. For Leverkusen, retaining Tella is a strategic gain in a congested festive period. Yet from Tella’s perspective, the chance to represent his nation at a major tournament is not merely symbolic it is a career milestone. That the two objectives diverge so starkly is the human dilemma of modern football.
This is not merely about a name left off a list; it is about timing. Tella’s prolonged injury lay-off has curtailed his minutes and perhaps eroded the momentum he needed to cement his place in a fiercely competitive Super Eagles attack. Form and fitness are currencies in selection rooms, and even the most gifted can find themselves on the outside looking in when either is in short supply.
But there is nuance here. Selection particularly for a tournament as prestigious as AFCON is a conversation between need and readiness. Nigeria’s frontline, stacked with seasoned scorers and wide men, offers few opportunities for an attacker still regaining rhythm. And yet, that does not diminish the personal sting of exclusion.
Hjulmand’s remarks hint at an unspoken truth the game is as much about opportunity lost as it is about goals scored. For Tella, this AFCON may pass without his presence in Morocco — but the hopes he harboured, and the close of margin that saw his place slip away, speak to the unfolding story of a young player still carving his path in the unforgiving theatre of international football.
Did You Know?
- Nathan Tella was expected to be part of Nigeria’s AFCON squad after Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes suggested he would travel to Morocco before head coach Eric Chelle finalised his 28-man list.
- Tella only recently returned from a long injury lay-off, which limited his game time and likely influenced Chelle’s decision not to include him.
- Leverkusen’s omission of Tella from Nigeria’s squad reduces the number of Nigerian internationals the club must release under FIFA’s AFCON player release rules a factor that eased their roster planning.
- Tella previously declared his desire to earn a spot with the Super Eagles ahead of AFCON and was quoted saying he needed to prove himself at club level to secure national selection.
- In addition to Tella’s exclusion, Udinese goalkeeper Maduka Okoye also missed out on the final Super Eagles squad despite recent solid club performances.
