Five Nigerian players are going to be participating in the league phase of the 2026/2027 UEFA Champions League, with some of them in tough draws after the draw was completed yesterday at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco.
Winners of the Africa Footballer of the Year in 2023 and 2024, Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman of Galatasaray and Atlético Madrid respectively, already know their opponents in the league phase starting on September 8, with Osimhen’s Galatasaray expected to take on superpower Barcelona and current defending champions, PSG.
Other teams that Osimhen and his teammates are going to be facing are Europa League defending champions Aston Villa. Others are Sporting, Feyenoord, Lille, Stuttgart and AEK Athens.
For Lookman, who joined Atlético Madrid from Atalanta, it will be a tough one against Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Manchester United, PSV, Fenerbahce, Bodo/Glimt, Viking and Stuttgart.
Super Eagles defender, Zaidu Sanusi, will represent Portuguese giants FC Porto in the Champions League, and they have been drawn against Manchester City, Liverpool, PSV, Real Betis, Napoli, Feyenoord, Slavia Prague, and LASK.
Unknown Nigerian winger, Christian Nwachukwu, who already made an impact for Azerbaijan’s Sabah FK in their Champions League journey will hope to lead his side to the round of 16, but they already have their job cut out with a league phase battle against former champions, Barcelona and Manchester United, last year finalist, Arsenal and others like Borrusia Dortmund, Napoli, Villarreal, Slavia Prague and Viking.
Moses Usor completes the list of Nigerian players to watch as he will be lacing his boots for Austrian side LASK in the league phase of the Champions League.
Usor will be up against another Nigerian, Sanusi, as his team will be playing against Porto. Others are Liverpool, Real Madrid, Sporting, Fenerbahce, Bodo/Glimt, Bratislava and AEK Athens.