Super Eagles Suffer Blow as England Hands Call-ups to 3 Nigeria-Eligible Players
- England national team has named three Nigeria-eligible youngsters in its 23-man squad for the Football Federation Cup in Turkey
- The trio play for Premier League clubs West Ham, Manchester City, and Liverpool, and have all featured for England’s U16 team
- Their inclusion is seen as a big blow to Nigeria’s hopes of convincing promising foreign-born talents to switch allegiance to the Super Eagles
In what can be considered a blow to the Super Eagles’ future recruitment plans, the England Football Association has announced three promising players of Nigerian descent in their squad for the upcoming Football Federation Cup in Antalya, Turkey.
The trio, Emmanuel Fejokwu, David Eze, and Joshua Abe, have been included in England’s 23-man team for the tournament, a move that could further reduce Nigeria’s chances of convincing them to switch allegiance.
Source: Getty Images
The invitation from England for Fejokwu, Eze, and Abe comes as a setback to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), which has been keen on convincing top-performing players of Nigerian descent in Europe to pledge their international future to the Super Eagles' squad.
Recently, it was reported that the NFF is scouting five foreign-born Nigerian players to strengthen the Super Eagles squad ahead of their crucial 2026 FIFA World Cup playoff against Gabon.
NFF aims to bolster the Super Eagles squad with fresh talent and experience before the November showdown against Gabon when the African playoff kicks off in Morocco, BBC reports.
The federation plans to strengthen Super Eagles' depth in key areas like defence, midfield, and attack ahead of the World Cup playoffs.
Introducing Emmanuel Fejokwu, David Eze, Joshua Abe
Fejokwu, a promising defender, plays for West Ham, Eze plies his trade at Manchester City in the midfield position, while Abe is a forward with a lot of talent playing for Liverpool.
All three players already have experience with the England U16 team, as they featured in two friendlies against Italy in August 2025, Allnigeriasoccer reports.
Source: Getty Images
England’s Young Lions are set to face three nations in the Football Federation Cup. First, they square up against Wales on Thursday, October 30, before returning to action on Saturday, November 1, with a game against the hosts Turkey.
Their final game will be against Portugal on Tuesday, November 4. All three matches will be played at the Emirhan Sport Complex in Antalya, Turkey.
Joshua Abe is highly rated at Liverpool
Fejokwu, Eze, and Abe will be hoping to add to their international caps during the upcoming friendly matches.
Abe scored a stunning goal for England U16 in a 2-1 loss against Italy in September 2025.
He is highly rated at Liverpool, and many have tipped him to excel at the club.
Ex-Liverpool star eyes Nigeria call-up
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that former Liverpool player Ovie Ejaria is reportedly set to pledge his future to the Super Eagles ahead of the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup playoffs.
Ejaria, who currently plays for La Liga club Real Oviedo, was snubbed by England's Three Lions after he played for the age-grade teams, failing to break into the senior team.
According to reports, Ejaria's representatives claim the player has established himself at Real Oviedo and is now looking to gain the trust of Super Eagles boss Eric Chelle.
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Source: Legit.ng
