Ex-Arsenal Star Cries Out Over Super Eagles Snub Six Years After Dumping England for Nigeria
- The Nigeria Football Federation, in the last decade, has made efforts to convince foreign-born players to switch to Nigeria
- Captain William Troost-Ekong, Alexander Iwobi and Ademola Lookman are some of those who successfully switched
- A former Arsenal forward has lamented having zero appearances six years after deciding to play for Nigeria over England
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A former Arsenal forward has cried out after failing to make an appearance six years after he switched his international allegiance from England to Nigeria.
The Nigeria Football Federation has worked hard to convince players with dual nationalities, particularly those born outside of the country, to play for Nigeria.
Source: Twitter
Joshua Zirkzee, Fikayo Tomori, and Folarin Balogun, amongst others, have turned down the opportunity and played for their other countries’ national teams.
However, the NFF have achieved success with a few others, including Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong, who ditched the Netherlands for Nigeria.
Reigning African Footballer of the Year Ademola Lookman is the NFF's best achievement in this regard, winning the gold barely two years after switching.
The federation is unrelenting and have eyes in the academies of English football teams where many Nigeria-eligible players are domiciled.
However, the story has remained the same; many of them stall on making a decision until they are past their prime and not called up by their European countries.
Ex-Arsenal star laments Super Eagles snub
Former Arsenal academy star China Akpom has opened up on not making a Super Eagles appearance, six years after he announced his decision to represent Nigeria.
“They’ve made me do the passport stuff. My agent has been in contact with the manager [Éric Chelle] and they’ve always liked me. If I was to get called up, it would be an honour, of course,” he said as quoted by TWTD.
As noted by Soccernet, Akpom, who was born to Nigerian parents in London, announced his decision to play for Nigeria in 2019, having represented England at youth levels.
His decision came when he was 23, and at 29, he is yet to earn a call-up, let alone make an appearance for the Nigerian national team.
He claimed his agent has been in contact with Eric Chelle, who has been in charge of the Super Eagles for nine months and is faced with crucial matches with no time for experiments.
Source: Getty Images
Victor Osimhen is currently the Super Eagles' first-choice forward and has been supported by Victor Boniface, though the Werder Bremen loan star has fallen down the pecking order, with Tolu Arokodare considered Osimhen’s deputy.
The team is stacked in attack with forwards like Paul Onuachu, Terem Moffi and even Cyriel Dessers constantly going in and out of the team, and failing to nail down a spot.
Kevin Akpoguma laments Super Eagles snub
Legit.ng previously reported that Kevin Akpoguma lamented after Nigeria stopped inviting him following a few matches since dumping Germany for Nigeria.
Akpoguma captained Germany at the U20 level and took a while before accepting to play for Nigeria, and it did not take long before invitations dried up for him.
Source: Legit.ng
