World Cup: Seven Footballers Of Nigerian Descent Who Will Feature For Another Nation In Qatar
The 2022 FIFA World Cup tournament will kick off on Sunday, November 20 in Qatar.
Despite Nigeria being a footballing nation, the Super Eagles failed to reach the group stages of the tournament. However, there are starlets who are of Nigerian-descents who will be representing a different nation at the tournament.
MDB has compiled a list of seven youngsters who are of Nigerian descents who will be participating in the 2022 FIFA World Cup tournament.
See the list below.
Bukayo Saka
Arsenal playmaker, Bukayo Saka will be making his world cup debut with the Three Lions of England.
Born in London to Nigerian parents, Saka featured in the 2020 European Cup where England finished as runners-up after losing 3-2 on penalties to the Italian national team. Saka also missed his spot kick in that game.
The 21-year-old left-footed player is also an integral part of the English national team.
Equally, he has featured 22 times for the Three Lions.
Manuel Akanji
Manchester City full back, Manuel Akanji will be representing the European side, Switzerland at the renowned global tournament.
The 27-year-old Manchester City defender was born in Neftenbach, Switzerland, to a Nigerian father and a Swiss mother.
This would be his second appearance in the competition having featured for the Europeans four years ago. Akanji, who recently moved to England, has 42 caps and made his debut for the Red Crosses in 2017.
Jamal Musiala
Born in Germany to a Nigerian father and German mother, Jamal Musiala was raised from the age of seven in England.
At the age of 19, he will be making his second major tournament for the German national team haven’t featured in the 2020 European Cup in 2021.
On 23 June 2021, he became the youngest German player to feature in a major tournament in a 2–2 draw with Hungary in Euro 2020, aged 18 years and 117 days.
During the match, Musiala set up Leon Goretzka’s late equalizer which sent Germany through to the Round of 16. In doing so, he received praise from pundits and fans worldwide.
Karim Adeyemi
The German professional footballer who plays as a forward for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund and the Germany national team.
Adeyemi was born in Munich, Germany, to a Nigerian father and Romanian mother.
He is a youth international for Germany, having represented the Germany under-16s, under-17s and under-21s.
Noah Okafor
Earlier, Manuel Akanji was unveiled as the first Swiss player of Nigerian-descent who will be featuring at the world up tournament, Noah Okafor is the other.
Noah Okafor shares a similarity with the Manchester City man in the sense that he was born to a Nigerian father and has a Swiss mother.
The 22-year-old forward, born in Binningen, played for the Europeans at every youth level but made his debut for the senior side in 2019.
He was instrumental in their Qatar qualification as his first international goal sealed the World Cup ticket for Switzerland. This year’s edition would be his first outing at the quadrennial tournament.
The final two footballers play for the Canadian national team.
Ike Ugbo
Ike Ugbo who plays for Ligue 1 team Troyes is the next man on the list.
He was born in London to Nigerian parents but the family moved to Canada when he was around five.
While the 24-year-old forward was eligible to represent the three nations, he played for the English side at the youth level. In September last year, Ugbo pledged his allegiance to the three-time African champions but made a U-turn two months later, committing his future to Canada.
The former Chelsea youth player then made his debut for the North Americans in a 2022 World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica on November 12. Overall, he has played eight times for the Reds since then.
Samuel Adekugbe
Another name in the Canadian rooster is Samuel Adekugbe who was born in England to Nigerian parents. The 27-year-old defender’s family later moved to Canada and the player who features for Turkish Super Lig club Hatayspor is on the plane to the Middle East nation.
He has 33 appearances for Coach Jon Herdman’s charges and is expected to help make Canada’s return to the tournament.
