Kelechi Iheanacho’s return to the Super Eagles comes after more than a year away from the senior team, but ahead of Nigeria’s meeting with Russia on Tuesday, the forward has explained why wearing the national colours still carries the same meaning for him as it did when he first entered the setup as a boy, Footynaija.com reports.
Iheanacho has spent much of his football life around Nigeria’s national teams. His path took him through the youth ranks before his breakthrough at the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup, where he helped the Golden Eaglets win the title and was named the tournament’s best player.
That success opened the door to the senior team, where he made his debut in 2015 and has since played at major tournaments including the 2018 and 2022 World Cups and the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.
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His last appearance for Nigeria before this recall was in the 2025 Unity Cup final against Jamaica.
His absence extended into the opening stages of Nigeria’s current 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign, with Eric Chelle selecting him specifically for the October friendly against Russia rather than the September qualifiers against Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau. The recall has also come after a strong start to his first season with Bursaspor, where he had scored 11 goals in eight league appearances before joining up with Nigeria.
Iheanacho explains what Nigeria means to him
Speaking from the Super Eagles camp ahead of Tuesday’s game, Iheanacho looked beyond his senior career when explaining his attachment to the national team.
“I have been in the Super Eagles, even in the national team in general, for a long, long time,” he said in the interview published by the Nigeria Football Federation.
“So starting from the Under-12 and 13 to 15 to whatever, 17 and all the rest of them to Super Eagles. So I’ve been very long here.”
For Iheanacho, the call-up is not about who is coaching Nigeria or what role he may have in the team. He says the motivation is much simpler.
“I’m not coming to the national team because of anybody or because of anything. It’s because of the love I have for the game and the passion,” he said.
“It’s the dream of everyone to play in the Super Eagles as long as you are Nigerian, and I’ve been living that dream for a long, long time to play in the national team from a junior level up to here.”
The 30-year-old then gave the clearest indication of how deeply he values any opportunity to represent Nigeria, saying he would accept an invitation regardless of the level of the team.
“Even if it’s five-a-side Eagles they play, or whether I’m Under-15, they invite me and say, make I come play, I go play,” Iheanacho said.
“It no matter what it will be because it’s my passion.”
The comments come as Nigeria prepare for a Russia side they drew 1-1 with in Moscow in June 2025. The Super Eagles have since arrived in Nizhny Novgorod for Tuesday’s game, but their squad has been weakened by injuries and club restrictions, leaving only 18 players available as of Sunday. Iheanacho is among the experienced forwards still with the team.
For a player who first wore Nigeria’s colours as a youngster, Tuesday’s friendly is another chance to add to a national-team journey that started long before he became a senior international.
