The fifth round of games in the Europa Conference League saw a Nigerian rise up to the top of the scorers chat in Europe’s third tier tournament, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Belgium side Gent ran out 4-1 winners over Ukrainian outfit Zorya Luhansk to go top of there group with 13 points, one more than second places Israeli side Maccabi Tel-Aviv.
Both teams will clash in the final round of games for the battle of who will finish as group leaders , with Gent needing a draw while Maccabi Tel-Aviv will be gunning for an outright win.
One player who will be key for the Belgians is one time Super Eagles invitee Gift Orban who was once again on target against Zorya to take his tally in the tournament to five in five games. He struck in the 55th minute.
He is now the top scorer in the tournament, with one goal more than the trio of Aleksandar Cavric of Slovenian side Slovan Bratislava, Dor Peretz of Maccabi Tel-Aviv and Hans Vanaken of Club Brugge.
His run in the tournament will improve his chances of getting another chance with the senior national team of Nigeria, after a nationality row with Togo denied him the chance of making his debut in the last game of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Sao Tome and Principe.
We exclusively gathered that he is now free to play for the Super Eagles with Confederation of African Football (CAF) confirming that he is eligible to represent Nigeria. His immediate target will be making the squad to next month Africa Cup of Nations.
Osas Mahawi
