Plymouth Argyle striker Owen Oseni has admitted that he wasn’t expecting to receive his first Super Eagles call up despite having a decent outing in League One last season, Footynaija.com reports.
Oseni notched 10 goals in 33 appearances across all competitions for Plymouth, with the 23-year-old striker crucially finishing the campaign on a high by scoring three times in the last four games of the season.
Now part of the group that will play Poland and Portugal next month in pre-World Cup friendly matches, Oseni believes that late surge in form put him on the radar of those in charge of the Nigeria national team selection.
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“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% 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.”
A tri-national, Oseni was eligible to represent Ireland, his country of birth, Nigeria through his father and Ivory Coast through his mother. And despite being open to representing any of the three nations, the young striker did not see his Super Eagles invitation coming.
“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.”
Oseni will rub shoulders with Nigeria’s top forwards with the likes of Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman and Akor Adams all part of the squad for those friendlies. He’ll be hoping for an opportunity to make his debut and show what he has to offer.
