The list of players that will represent Nigeria at the Unity Cup tournament in London, and the friendly games against Poland and Portugal respectively was made public two days ago by the Nigeria Football Federation ( NFF).
One name that made both list was that of 23 year old Plymouth Argyle striker Owen Oseni like we exclusively reported one week ago.
Aside making the list for the Unity Cup, he is part of the group that will play Poland and Portugal next month in pre-World Cup friendly matches.
He said he is still finding it hard to believe that he will be a part of the team.
“I know I had an alright season, but to get called up for a country where there’s more than 240 million people and probably 50% want to play for their country was quite a big deal for me so I was really buzzing,” Oseni told BBC Sport.
“The coaches were watching me, obviously they picked up on the form I’d hit just towards the end of the season.”
Oseni found the net three times in Plymouth’s final four games of their League One campaign, where they narrowly missed out on a place in the play-offs.
The Irish-born forward ended his first spell in the English Football League with 10 goals from 33 appearances, having joined Plymouth last summer from Scottish side St Mirren after a spell with National League club Gateshead.
Oseni is eligible for Nigeria through his father, while his mother is from Ivory Coast, meaning he could represent the Elephants as well as the Republic of Ireland.
“I’d love to represent any country on a national level,” he says. “It’s massive for me and my career and Nigeria, the Super Eagles, when they came knocking, it was a decision that I couldn’t turn down.
“I didn’t think there was a possibility that that could happen. All I know is to just work hard and many doors could open, but I definitely didn’t think that I would be one of them.”
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
