Super Eagles midfielder, Alex Iwobi has disclosed that he has no regret choosing Nigeria ahead of the Three Lions of England.
He made this known in an interview with Hotsports, where he said that he felt at home with the Nigerian culture.
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Recall that the Nigerian international played for the England youth team before changing allegiance to Nigeria.
“I wouldn’t say I have any regrets. I’d like to say I respected England, they gave me a lot of opportunities and I was able to do them proud.
“But I feel more at home with Nigeria. I feel this is where I’m at home and where I represent, like my family, everyone. I’ve grown up in a Nigerian culture so I’d say that I have no regrets picking Nigeria over England. “
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24 Comments
Correct man Iwobinho. Still remember the lovely goal you scored against England in 2018 in that friendly game.
Good to hear that you don’t regret choosing Nigeria. You do it for the fans. Not the useless NFF.
NFF ONIGBESE’s chronic, malignant non-payment of player bonuses is enough to make even the most die hard lover of Nigeria regret playing for us. Even if you no regret, we the fans regret on your behalf.
Some of our best players in the world today are hesitating to choose Nigeria because of NFF ONIGBESE nonsense. Can you blame them?
NFF ONIGBESE RADARADA should pay bonuses to these players. Football na work, no be play dem dey play for field. NFF, pay them for their work!
Dey would have used him in a friendly against Latvia and that would be his last game in English jersey. I m 98,2 % sure .
@sportradio, the same way they used Eze against Malta
I think we should forget Tosin adarabioyo, Olise, and Eze the disrespect is just too much……Eze thinks he is what he is not, and I will be happy to see him used and dumped by the British, the mugu still waiting for an English call up after the 1 cap he has. We should harness talents that are passionate about playing for Nigeria not some guys who will wait years for England and when they are in their late 20s will now decide to play for Nigeria.
You are so right
I think these guys are not wise. They are not learning from what has happened in the past. England most especially have this silent policy not to give these players the opportunity and the glory they deserved. It’s silent but it’s there.
I can count lots of players who been ‘destroyed’ by this practice from England and their coaches.
I am surprised these players are not getting this. They keep waiting to excel with England. That’s foolishness.
You don’t live in the past but you learn from the past.
Except you are exceptional like saka England will not allow a half caste African to excel with their team. You need to ask fasahanu, agbolahan, etc Of late Tammy Abraham.
This Eze boy is funny. He expects to play in that England midfield. That’s foolishness.
Even with the super eagles he would still have to learn to queue up. He would only be a regular if he gets the chance and do something extraordinary.
It was like that with iwobi. Same with ademola. Afcon is where ademola won my trust completely.
The super eagles is not Ghana (laugh). Eze must do extra work to put iwobi permanently on the bench. Niddi is also playing in advanced role in midfield now. As a coach I won’t start a new comer like eze ahead of ndidi if he wants to play play in advanced role in the middle. He can come in in the second half.
So let’s leave these guys alone. We are over hyping them. Yes they will add to our team but eze, olise and adarbioyo are the maradonas or the taribo West of this world.
Let us encourage those who want to play for us. Let’s make noise about these ones only.
When they come to their right senses and they want to come, let us welcome them if they are still useful. The more the merrier.
Thank you for choosing Nigeria, but go and learn how to shoot.
@Sunnyb… Thank you for that comment. Na me and you on this forum no the hide bad wound. If Iwobi wants to be taken seriously he should go and learn to shoot and be a hustler of a midfielder… his trademark is escorting opposition to his goal to cause us panic… Someone also needs to advice to cut his feminine dreadlock… He also needs to wear his socks properly as disciplined footballers do… We no need guy and fineboy waka inside field.
If. Iwobi of nowadays face keeper he wil pass the ball or mistakenly play it to the goal bar so that the rebound wil be scored by the opponent.or kick himself with the left leg . hoping that the referee wil blow in his favor for falling down .
Anyway he tried in those days .2014 to 2014:is no joke . He wil be the one to win Canada world cup for Nigeria if he can switch his muscles back to 2014 season.
Oh no. This your piece of advice would have done a player like Kelechi Nwakali a whole lot of good.
You dont pick england, england picks you
You are talking about Iwobi should learn how to shoot. Fine, agreed.
Your other midfielders nko? Why single out Iwobi, when shooting is a general problem in the SE? Even our strikers are struggling with shooting, so why unu carry Iwobi matter for head?
And why are you not talking about all the match bonuses he’s being owed?
If any of you has an employer that is owing him wages, will you continue to show up for work?
In spite of being owed, Iwobi and others continue to show up for duty, and instead of appreciating their efforts, they get ridiculed? That’s so unfair and uncalled for.
Nothing wrong with criticism, but we should criticize to build up, not destroy. This lad willingly turned his back on England to play for us. With his quality, he could have earned a couple of caps for England, and he would have received preferential treatment at Arsenal like Saka is currently getting. But he turned his back on all that and chose Nigeria. And let’s call a spade a spade, although he has his shortcomings, Iwobi is not a bad player at all. He remains an incredibly important part of our offensive build ups. Most of our dangerous attacks come from his heads up play. This is definitely not a player we should be bad mouthing.
But na una get una mouth. I can’t dictate to you how you use it. So, carry on!
@pompei , I agree Iwobi is certainly not a bad player but he is not a 10 either. I think he will be better suited to an 8. The SE handlers need to sort out the attacking midfield position. I have seen clips of Olawoyin, they should try him out I that position. He appears to have the qualities. He can dribble, he is technical on the ball, he has good passing range and good in the pocket. He also seems to be good with goals and very importantly, he is very good defensively(especially for an attacking midfielder).
A midfield of ndidi , iwobi and olawoyin could prove to be very effective. Iwobi should not be disrespected , he is one of the most capped players in the team and never shy away from honouring national call ups. Iwobi! Na man you be!
I will use a 433 , with the above mentioned 3 in midfield behind an attacking forward line of lookman, osimhen and chukwueze if fit.
Which other attaching midfielder we ve, ur Slim Shady never allowed them to play. Let’s try Olawoyin, Bashiru or Aina in that position, then we can decide. @JimmyBall big respect anytime. We don’t hustle backwards my brother.
Aina in attacking midfield?? I give up.
Good you’re not the coach we know how your selection criteria will be..
Mr cheap shot, what criteria was used in our last friendly matches by ur coach, Aina possessed more skills than Iwobi plus he’s a better shooter fact. Alex Arnold was moved to where by Southgate.
Suddenly, they want Iwobi to be a hustler of the ball. Please how many 10s in world football are hustlers of the ball?
Iwobi’s best position on the field of play is just behind the strikers. Iwobi’s best days as a SE player where he nearly reached 1 goal contribution per game for the SE was during the Rohr years when we scored goals for fun and produced top scorers back to back to back.
Expecting Iwobi to win balls is like expecting Messi to play in DM.
Even till date, our best-attacking moves always pass through Alex…..any coach who cannot realize that should steer clear of the SE.
Alex Iwobi is not a DM and under no circumstances should he be asked or expected to perform the role of a DM.
….Iwobi’s best days as a SE player were when he played just behind the strikers and nearly reached 1 goal contribution per game for the SE…..
Even almighty Brazil then singled out Iwobi as the man that must be shackeld to stop the SE from functioning.
@Dr. Drey, I posted this sometime ago. I’ll repeat it here again
Sometimes I wonder whether people even watch and analyze Iwobi’s game before criticizing him, or it’s just pure hatred. For some, simply because Iwobi happens to be Okocha’s nephew they expect him to demonstrate similar skills and trickery that Okocha did (sometimes without much end product) forgetting that football has gone past that era. Here is a skillful footballer who has adapted to the modern game of playing for the team, working the team’s plan and delivering the end product, yet all he gets is unnecessary destructive criticism. I can sympathize with those still stuck in past expecting a playmaker that dribbles from his goalpost to the opponents penalty area, but unfortunately football has evolved beyond such individual showmanship.
Few months back, Troost-Ekong was the punching bag for some. Nothing he did was good enough until he shamed detractors at the AFCON, even while playing 90% of the matches with injuries. I remember some claiming that Ekong had no skills at all but only went through academies and push himself hard in training (as if there’s anything wrong in obtaining good education in one’s chosen endeavor or working hard to get better). This same player went on to become MVP in AFCON, only the fourth Nigerian to achieve that honour. To put things in better perspective, Ekong became only the third defender to win MVP in AFCON history (after our own Christian Chukwu in 1980, and Rigobert Song in 2002). And this was a tournament graced by great players like Mo’ Salah, Sadio Mane, Riyad Mahrez, Achraf Hakimi and our own Victor Osimhen.
Truth is that some people here are in the habit of viciously attacking and trying everything to bring down players whom they think is occupying the slot that their anointed player should occupy. I can appreciate those who genuinely wish Iwobi to improve some aspects of his game, even though we must all understand that there is no all round perfect footballer. However for those who feel that they need to bring down Iwobi in order to create a space for their favoured player, they should take lessons from the Troost-Ekong case. At AFCON, Troost-Ekong played side by side with the player some thought Ekong needed to go in order for that player to take the slot.
There is enough space for everyone who works hard, stay consistent and bid their time. The opportunity will certainly come, and such players will take their chance without anyone having to pull another person down in the foolish belief that they are fighting for “their own”!
Alex Iwobi’s selling points in the Super Eagles are his dedication, drive and commitment.
His hunger for the game has not waned one bit since the days his dad used to follow him to the Super Eagles camp.
His threat as a goal scorer appears to have dipped but this isn’t altogether unconnected with the formations adopted by recent coaches.
His passes remain crisp, sharp and delivered with urgency and his does hustle for the ball far up the pitch when the team is executing pressing manuovres.
The only downside – if I can call it that – is that Iwobi hasn’t produced an A1 World Class performance for Nigeria in a while. The last of such otherworldly performances that I can remember were against Zambia in 2017 and Argentina in the unforgettable 4:2 wins. Since then, his Super Eagles performances – to me – continue to be effective, productive and consistent with his exceptional work ethics; but not world class.
But Iwobi never touted himself as a world class player. what you see is what you get. You can either love what you see or hate it, that’s your problem. For him, his passion will never wane and his output will never fall be below par!
@Deo, one of Iwobis best games for Nigeria (and an absolute A-1 performance was against Sierra Leone in Benin City. But the overall result of that game and the manner that SE gave up a four goals lead to draw 4-4 blinded people to Iwobi’s flawless performance in that game. His excellent performance in that simply became a victim of that unexpected ending of that encounter.
Aleks, I actually remember that. But, when you consider the calibre of opposition (former African champions Zambia and former world champions Argentina), you will agree with me that those performances eclipse the one against Sierra Leone.
Also, Iwobi’s performances against Argentina (the last goal) and against Zambia (the only goal) contributed towards victories against quality opponents.
I will even argue that Iwobi’s performance against Cameroon in the 2019 Afcon quarter finals was better than the performance against Sierra Leone.
Iwobi is a quality player who seldom to elevates his game to world class standards.