England Name Sons of Two Former Super Eagles Players in 27-Man Squad To Face France
- England U18s have named a strong 27-man squad to face France, including six Nigeria-eligible players
- Sons of two former Super Eagles stars Michael Emenalo and Emmanuel Okoduwa also make the U18 list
- A total of 15 Nigerian-eligible footballers now feature across all of England’s youth squads
England’s U18 head coach Neil Ryan has announced his 27-man squad for the October international doubleheader against France, with the list drawing major attention in Nigeria.
Among the call-ups are six players of Nigerian descent, including the sons of two former Super Eagles internationals.
Source: Twitter
According to England Football, the most notable inclusions are Chelsea’s Landon Emenalo, son of former Super Eagles left-back Michael Emenalo, and Wolves defender Wesley Okoduwa, son of ex-Nigerian striker Emmanuel Okoduwa.
Michael Emenalo is best remembered for his role in Nigeria’s 1994 World Cup campaign in the United States, where he replaced the injured Benedict Iroha.
His son, Landon, who was born in Arizona, is eligible to represent Nigeria, England, or the United States.
On the other hand, Wesley Okoduwa, born in New York in 2008, holds similar eligibility options, keeping Nigeria firmly in the conversation for both youngsters’ futures.
Six Nigeria-eligible players in the England squad
Aside from Emenalo and Okoduwa, four other players with Nigerian roots have been handed call-ups to the England U18 team, All Nigeria Soccer reports.
Source: Twitter
Owen Asemota (Aston Villa), Lanre Awesu (West Ham United), Ifeoluwa Ibrahim (Arsenal), and Chizaram Ezenwata (Chelsea) also made the list.
The Young Lions will face France in back-to-back matches at St George’s Park between October 9 and October 12 as part of their build-up to the 2025 FIFA U17 World Cup in Qatar.
The squad also features top prospects from Premier League clubs, including Manchester City’s Reigan Heskey (son of Emile Heskey), Tottenham’s Jun’ai Byfield, and Manchester United’s Bendito Mantato.
The England U18s have been in fine form, recently winning the Costa De La Luz U18 international tournament in Spain, where they defeated Uzbekistan, Morocco, and Canada to claim the title.
Nigerian Presence in English teams increases
The inclusion of six players of Nigerian descent in this squad brings the total number of Nigeria-eligible youngsters in England’s youth setup to fifteen (15).
This list includes high-profile names such as Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal) and Tyrique George (Chelsea) in the U21s, as well as Rio Ngumoha (Liverpool) and Callum Olusesi (Tottenham) in the U19s.
For Nigeria, the challenge remains ensuring that promising diaspora talents stay connected to their heritage.
In recent years, players like Bukayo Saka, Fikayo Tomori, and Tammy Abraham have chosen England over Nigeria, highlighting the growing competition between the two countries for dual-eligible stars.
Players like Ademola Lookman, Calvin Bassey, Semi Ajayi, Joe Aribo, and Bright Osayi-Samuel have also dumped England to represent Nigeria at the senior level.
Chelsea stops striker from switching to Nigeria
In another development, Legit.ng reported that Chelsea have stopped their youth team star, Chizaram “Chizzy” Ezenwata, from joining Nigeria’s U20 training camp ahead of the FIFA U20 World Cup in Chile.
The teenager, who has been on the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) radar for years, was expected to link up with the Flying Eagles in Abuja.
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Source: Legit.ng
