Since Alex dumped England to play for Nigeria in 2015, he has played in several major competitions. The only one he missed was the final squad of the 2016 Olympics, but he played in the 2018 World Cup, 2019 African Cup of Nations, and the 2021 AFCON in Cameroon.

Iwobi didn't play a major part in the recent AFCON, he was even partly blamed for the exit of the Super Eagles, but Alex apologized to Nigerians. His apology was for getting a red card in the round of 16 games against Tunisia in Cameroon.

His exit weakened the squad, made it harder for the team to come back from a goal down and Nigeria, who were the best team in the group stage, exited the competition. If Nigeria had won the game and progressed in the competition, he would have served his suspension in the AFCON but since Nigeria exited the competition, he has to carry over the suspension.

Iwobi is a player of top quality on his good day, and he can cause problems for any team. Eguavoen had to drop him because he is not eligible to play, and it would only be a waste of a spot.  Andre Ayew will also miss Ghana's game because of his red card against Comoros.