Arsenal and Super Eagles striker, Alex Iwobi has insisted he has no regret placing Nigeria above England in his choice of country to play senior national team football.
The player whose coach, Arsene Wenger had recently declared his displeasure that despite his advice that he should settle for the England’s Three Lions instead of the Super Eagles; decided to play for Nigeria, has that Nigeria will win more converts among the numerous players of the country’s descent in the United Kingdom.
Iwobi, who scored Nigeria’s first goal in last Sunday’s Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Zambia said that though it was difficult choosing Nigeria ahead of England, he would not regret his choice because he is a proud Nigerian, adding that he was also born in Nigeria before he was raised up in England.
“I was advised by my uncle and dad to play for Nigeria because that is the country they come from. But at the end of the day I was the one that settled for my country because that is where I was born. I come from Nigeria, so when the chance came for me to play for my country, I obliged, because I did not want to turn it down. Though it was a bit difficult. I am a proud Nigerian; I have no regret playing for my country Nigeria because I am proud of where I come from.
“I guess the decision would be hard turning down offers from where you are raised up to play for your country of birth. Like me, I was raised up in the United Kingdom, I was playing for England before and I was comfortable that I would play for the senior national team of England. There are lots of Nigerian talents in the United Kingdom, the choice is theirs to make but hopefully there would be a few more Nigerians in the United Kingdom that would soon change their minds and return to play for their father land,” he stated.
Iwobi had played for the England youth national teams before switching his allegiance to Nigeria after he was convinced by his uncle, former Super Eagles captain, Austin ‘Jay-Jay’ Okocha and his dad.
No comments:
Post a Comment