As many as five players have been given the green light by world football governing body FIFA to play for Nigeria but they are yet to be called up by coach of the team Gernot Rohr.
With Nigeria in prime position to seal a spot in the final qualifying round for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, several players of Nigerian descent are expected to make a decision on representing the team at the tournament if they eventually progress.
However some players have already gotten approval to play for Nigeria and OwnGoalNigeria.com takes a look at five palyers who can be called up to represent Nigeria despite the fact that they were born abroad.
Ovie Ejaria (Reading) – He has been cleared since the start of the year but surprisingly not given a call up yet. The Ex England youth international isn’t seen as an upgrade on the players available in his position in the team by coach Rohr despite his fine performances for Reading in the English Championship.
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Joel Noah Sarenren Bazee (Augsburg) – Born in Germany to Nigerian parents, the 25 year old picked Nigeria as his preferred choice for international football but injuries and poor form hasn’t helped his course. Since training with the Nigerian team in 2017 he hasn’t played up to 30 games at club level due to injuries.
He is slowly walking his way back to full fitness as he has played in four Bundesliga games so far but with the options available to Nigeria on the flank he will need to do more before he is given a look in.
Chuba Akpom (Middlesbrough) – Strange that he initially turned down a chance to represent Nigeria while he was am emerging talent at Arsenal. He made a u-turn and applied for s switch two years ago. He has been given the green light by FIFA but his form at club level hasn’t been the best and at 26 he might be running out of time to play for Nigeria.
Mipo Odubeko (West Ham) –
Per Wikipedia Odubeko was born in the Republic of Ireland and is of Nigerian descent through his parents, who were both born in the African country. He represented the Republic of Ireland’s under-16 side in their successful 2017 Victory Shield campaign and was selected to play for the under-17 team in two matches against Finland in March 2019.
However, he was overlooked for Ireland’s squad for the 2019 UEFA European Under-17 Championship despite his strong form at club level and, having not represented the nation in the intervening period, he rejected subsequent call-ups to the under-21 squad in 2021, sparking speculation that he could switch allegiances to Nigeria. He also remains eligibile to represent England.
Out on loan to Huddersfield from West Ham, he won’t be requiring a switch of allegiance process if he is called up by Nigeria as he played for the Irish team at levels not recognized by FIFA.
Jonas Chimezie (Hamburg) – At the age of 21 and with ten games under his belt for Hamburg this season in the German second division. Jonas had once again voiced his desire to represent Nigeria.
In 2018 he granted an interview to this portal where he talked about his desire to play for Nigeria but few months later represented Germany at U19 level. He played five games for them at that level before stepping up to the U20 where he played four games. He sees his chance more with Nigeria at senior level and he has since gotten the green light to switch to Nigeria.
