Exciting U18 Premier League Midfielder Ignores Nigeria, Becomes Provisionally Cap-Tied to England
- Malik Olayiwola seems to have committed his future to England following his appearance in the UEFA European U17 Championship qualifier
- The exciting Nigeria-eligible midfielder who plays for Everton U18 is described as athletic, courageous and ambitious
- The 16-year-old youngster featured in the Young Lions' loss to Lithuania, meaning he is now cap-tied to England
Nigeria-eligible star Malik Olayiwola seems to have made up his mind to represent England at the international level, thereby ditching the Super Eagles.
The 16-year-old, who was born in England, made his competitive debut for the Young Lions in a UEFA European U17 Championship qualifier on Friday.
The exciting midfielder sat out on the bench in their loss to Scotland, but was in action when they fell 1-0 to Lithuania.
Source: Getty Images
Olayiwola was introduced into the game with barely six minutes left on the clock as he came on for De Lisle, marking the teenager's first competitive appearance.
Subsequently, he is now provisionally cap-tied to England and will have to make a formal request to FIFA should he change his mind to play for Nigeria.
It was his third time featuring for England youth teams, having played for the U15 and U16 teams earlier.
On the Everton official website, Olayiwola is described as athletic, courageous and ambitious, and has expressed his eagerness to play at Everton's new stadium in the near future.
He is now the second teenager of Nigerian descent to be provisionally cap-tied to England in recent days, after Newcastle United midfielder Sam Alabi, per All Nigeria Soccer.
A number of players in the present Super Eagles squad also featured for various England youth teams before switching allegiance.
Ademola Lookman, Alex Iwobi, Joe Aribo, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, Ola Aina, Semi Ajayi and Bright Osayi-Samuel all for England at the youth level.
William Troost-Ekong played for the Netherlands; William Troost-Ekong for the Netherlands, Calvin Bassey for Italy, Cyriel Dessers for Belgium, and Maduka Okoye and Felix Agu for Germany.
Meanwhile, a football expert simply named 'Santon' has urged the Nigeria Football Federation to enable a level playing ground for players born abroad and those born in Nigeria. Santon told Legit.ng.
"We see what is happening. I believe Nigeria can have more players from abroad because you can see they understand the rudiments of the game. Ekong, Bassey, and Lookman were all born abroad, and you can see that they are the best players we have now.
"What the NFF should to is to enable a level playing ground for these players, so they can compete with those born here. We can't keep losing key players to England or other countries abroad."
Landon Emenalo withdraws
Meanwhile, the English FA has stated that Landon Emenalo has withdrawn from the Young Lions squad that will represent the nation at the 2025 FIFA U17 World Cup in Qatar.
Landon is the son of former Nigerian international Michael Emenalo, who was part of the Super Eagles squad to the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States.
Head coach Neil Ryan had initially included the 17-year-old, who was born in Arizona, USA, in his 21-man squad for the tournament.
Source: Getty Images
The exciting midfielder, who once represented the United States at the U17 level, withdrew from the England squad due to an Injury.
AC Milan star urged to play for Nigeria
Legit.ng earlier reported that impressive AC Milan star Zachary Athekame has hinted at his willingness to represent the Nigerian national team at the senior level even ahead of the World Cup play-off.
The 20-year-old was born in Geneva to a Nigerian father and a Swiss mother and is eligible to play for either of the countries.
Source: Legit.ng
