New Super Eagles striker George Ilenikhena was the main talking point yesterday after hitting a brace for Al Ittihad in their 3-0 win over Najma in the King of Cup Champions.
Ilenikhena who joined the team from Ligue 1 side Monaco in January was handed his first start after impressing in pre season, and he didn’t disappoint with a quick fire brace.
He opened the scoring in the 16th minute. Latching onto a through ball from Ahmed Al-Ghamdi, he fired left-footed into the top corner of Al-Najma’s goal. His second came in the 38th minute, drilling a low shot from outside the box into the right corner.
His brace set his team on the path to the convincing 3-0 win, with head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle who has succeeded in convincing him to play for Nigeria watching.
Born in Lagos but raised in France, his international future has been a hot debate since he made the breakthrough at 17. However like we exclusively reported he has accepted to play for Nigeria after talks with Chelle.
Sources however say he isn’t listed for the upcoming AFCON Qualifiers games in September, but he will be available for subsequent games before the end of the year.
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
