Plymouth Argyle striker Owen Oseni has said his first call-up to the Super Eagles feels unreal. He never thought the Nigeria national team would notice him after playing in England's third tier, according to PUNCH Sports Extra.
The 23-year-old will join the squad for the Unity Cup in London this month. Nigeria will play Zimbabwe, and they might also face India or Jamaica. He will also travel with the team for friendly matches against Poland and Portugal in June.
“I know I had an alright season, but to get called up for a country where there’s more than 240 million people and probably 50 per cent want to play for their country was quite a big deal for me, so I was really buzzing,” Oseni told BBC Sport.
“The coaches were watching me. Obviously, they picked up on the form I’d hit just towards the end of the season.”
Oseni scored three goals in Plymouth’s last four League One matches. He finished the season with 10 goals from 33 appearances after joining from Scottish club St Mirren last summer. Before that, he played for National League team Gateshead. Plymouth just missed out on a play-off spot.
The Irish-born player can represent Nigeria through his father. His mother is from Ivory Coast, so he could also play for the Elephants or the Republic of Ireland. But he said he had no doubts when the Super Eagles reached out.
“I’d love to represent any country on a national level. It’s massive for me and my career, and Nigeria, the Super Eagles, when they came knocking, it was a decision that I couldn’t turn down. I didn’t think there was a possibility that that could happen. All I know is to just work hard, and many doors could open, but I definitely didn’t think that I would be one of them,” he said.
Getting this call-up will put Oseni alongside Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman in training. He could also play in friendlies against teams with stars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski. He believes this experience will help him improve for his second season at Plymouth.
“It’ll definitely boost my confidence coming back into pre-season. I’m looking to come back and nail down the starting position now for Argyle next year, and I think this will help me a lot, this call-up,” he said.
Oseni also took the chance to highlight the talent in League One.
“I feel like in League One, being the third tier in England, it could get looked upon as not the highest standard. But there are a lot of great players in League One, a lot of good internationals in League One who go and do well for their countries. So it definitely gives League One that recognition I think it deserves.
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