Add Nigeria Football: Osimhen, Bassey, Lookman and the Eagles Latest
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Super Eagles: Nigeria's Biggest Stories Right Now
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"headline": "Super Eagles: Nigeria's Biggest Stories Right Now",
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"description": "Osimhen's Lagos origin story, Bassey's European push, Ajayi's fitness row, Lookman's Bernabeu test, Eagles debutants and Nigeria's World Cup crisis — all in one place.",
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"datePublished": "2026-03-21T08:00:00+01:00",
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"about": [
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{ "@type": "Person", "name": "Victor Osimhen", "nationality": "Nigerian", "jobTitle": "Professional Footballer" },
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{ "@type": "Person", "name": "Calvin Bassey", "nationality": "Nigerian", "jobTitle": "Professional Footballer" },
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{ "@type": "Person", "name": "Semi Ajayi", "nationality": "Nigerian", "jobTitle": "Professional Footballer" },
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{ "@type": "Person", "name": "Ademola Lookman", "nationality": "Nigerian", "jobTitle": "Professional Footballer" },
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{ "@type": "Person", "name": "William Troost-Ekong" },
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{ "@type": "Person", "name": "Umar Sadiq" },
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{ "@type": "Person", "name": "Dele-Bashiru Adams" },
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{ "@type": "Person", "name": "Chidera Ejuke" },
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{ "@type": "Person", "name": "Eric Chelle" },
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{ "@type": "SportsTeam", "name": "Hull City AFC" },
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{ "@type": "SportsTeam", "name": "Fulham FC" },
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{ "@type": "SportsTeam", "name": "Galatasaray" }
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From Semi Ajayi's fitness concerns to Osimhen's street-hawking backstory and Nigeria's crumbling World Cup appeal, March 2026 is one of the most eventful months in Super Eagles history.<br>
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Hull City Raises the Alarm Over Ajayi After Nigeria Call-Up
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<br>Hull City manager Sergej Jakirovic has gone on record about his concerns over Semi Ajayi returning from Super Eagles duty in less than full fitness. Jakirovic made clear the risk is real — international breaks, travel across continents and hard competitive minutes are the last thing a player in Ajayi's situation needs.<br>
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<br>Ajayi got the call for Nigeria's Turkey camp, named in Chelle's 23-man group for the March friendlies against Iran and Jordan. The club haven't pulled Ajayi out, but the manager's words leave no doubt that they'll be monitoring his condition the moment he steps back through the door. [Read the Jakirovic comments in full at FootballInNigeria.com.ng.](https://www.footballinnigeria.com.ng/nigerians-abroad/hull-boss-flags-ajayi-fitness-risk-after-eagles-duty/)<br>
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<br>The situation highlights a familiar tension in Nigerian football — club welfare versus national team ambition. Ajayi is precisely the type of defender Chelle wants: physical, composed and capable of [leading](https://www.footballinnigeria.com.ng/category/news/) from the back. The national team needs its players arriving in shape, not nursing knocks picked up on the way over.<br>
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<br>New Bet9ja users keen on Nigeria's friendly programme can take advantage of the [Bet9ja welcome bonus](https://www.footballinnigeria.com.ng/sports-betting/bet9ja/bet9ja-promotion-code/) using the YOHAIG code before the Iran and Jordan ties.<br>
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Bassey Says Fulham Are Not Done Yet
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<br>The numbers aren't pretty — three games without a win, four points adrift of Europe, eight games to go. But Calvin Bassey isn't [panicking](https://www.footballinnigeria.com.ng/category/football-economics/). The Super Eagles defender has been a regular fixture in Silva's back line all season, and when he says the group believes, it carries some weight.<br>
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<br>His message was clear: Silva hasn't let the winless streak become a confidence crisis, and the team is following his lead. They're not free-falling down the table — they're [drawing](https://www.footballinnigeria.com.ng/category/merchandising-and-branding/) games, not losing them, and the gap to Europe is still closeable. [Read the full Bassey interview at FootballInNigeria.com.ng.](https://www.footballinnigeria.com.ng/news/bassey-fulham-eye-europe-despite-three-game-winless-run/)<br>
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<br>For Bassey, qualifying for Europe wouldn't just be a team achievement. It would validate a season of hard work and put him back in conversations about the top end of the game.<br>
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Osimhen: From Selling Water in Lagos to Knowing He'd Always Make It
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<br>Before the goals, the records and the European nights, Osimhen was hawking bottled water in [Lagos traffic](https://gratisafhalen.be/author/jeannagarlo/) to survive. He watched the cars from the roadside as a teenager, selling bottles of water, and apparently never once thought the wealth inside those vehicles was beyond his reach.<br>
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<br>The numbers and the performances are remarkable. But the mental makeup that produced them is what this story is really about. [His full profile and the story behind the mindset is at FootballInNigeria.com.ng.](https://www.footballinnigeria.com.ng/player-profiles/osimhen-i-knew-id-be-rich-even-without-football/)<br>
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<br>He has been open about the role Drogba, Ighalo and Mikel played in moulding him — not just as inspirations from a distance, but as people who actively influenced his development. [Read about the three legends who shaped Osimhen at FootballInNigeria.com.ng.](https://www.footballinnigeria.com.ng/player-profiles/drogba-ighalo-mikel-shaped-my-career-osimhen/) Among those stories, Osimhen shared that Mikel personally handed him cash on his first day with the senior Eagles — a small act that meant everything at the time. [The full story of that debut gesture is at FootballInNigeria.com.ng.](https://www.footballinnigeria.com.ng/news/national/osimhen-reveals-mikel-gave-him-money-on-eagles-debut/)<br>
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<br>There's a harder side to the Eagles story too. Osimhen has spoken about being shut out — quite literally — by a senior player during an early international camp, a rejection he carried for a long time. [Read the story of that Eagles rejection at FootballInNigeria.com.ng.](https://www.footballinnigeria.com.ng/player-profiles/osimhen-the-night-a-senior-eagle-shut-the-door-on-me/) The Galatasaray striker has also dealt with a fractured arm this term, travelling back to Nigeria for treatment in a blow to his rhythm at club level. [That injury update is at FootballInNigeria.com.ng.](https://www.footballinnigeria.com.ng/injuries/osimhen-flies-home-to-nigeria-with-fractured-arm/)<br>
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<br>New Bet9ja users following [Osimhen's](https://www.footballinnigeria.com.ng/category/football-governance/) return to fitness can check out [Nigeria's top Bet9ja code](https://www.bet9japromotioncode.com.ng/) before placing their first wager.<br>
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Two Liverpool Stars Apologised to Osimhen After the Final Whistle
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<br>After the Galatasaray vs [Liverpool tie](https://www.footballinnigeria.com.ng/category/health-and-fitness/) at Anfield, two of the home side's players — Szoboszlai and Konate — made a point of tracking down Osimhen to say sorry. Liverpool players don't chase down [opponents](https://www.footballinnigeria.com.ng/category/news/interviews/) to apologise unless they genuinely respect them. [The post-match Anfield moment is covered at FootballInNigeria.com.ng.](https://www.footballinnigeria.com.ng/nigerians-abroad/osimhen-szoboszlai-konate-apologised-after-anfield/)<br>
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Three Nigerians on Opposite Sides in a LaLiga Relegation Six-Pointer
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<br>LaLiga served up a genuinely compelling Nigerian football moment this month — a relegation six-pointer with three of the country's players right in the middle of it. Adams and Ejuke on one side, Sadiq on the other — three Nigerians who have carved out LaLiga careers fighting hard for contrasting causes. [All the Nigerian LaLiga action and analysis is covered at FootballInNigeria.com.ng.](https://www.footballinnigeria.com.ng/nigerians-abroad/adams-ejuke-vs-sadiq-nigerians-in-laliga-six-pointer/)<br>
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Lookman's First Night at the Bernabeu
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<br>The Bernabeu on a European match night is a different kind of test. Ademola Lookman stepped into it for the first time, facing Real Madrid in what represented uncharted territory for the Atalanta winger. Whether he thrives or shrinks in those moments tells you a lot about where a player is in their . [Lookman's Madrid derby story is fully covered at FootballInNigeria.com.ng.](https://www.footballinnigeria.com.ng/nigerians-abroad/lookman-faces-bernabeu-test-in-first-madrid-derby/)<br>
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<br>Anyone keen on staking on the Nigerian contingent in European football can check [today's Bet9ja promo code](https://bet9japromotioncode.ng/bet9ja-promo-code-today) before placing their first wager.<br>
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Eric Chelle Is Actively Rebuilding the Super Eagles Squad
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<br>Eric Chelle used Nigeria's March camp in Turkey to hand potential international debuts to three players who have never before represented the senior Super Eagles. Which three players got the nod — and which positions they fill — tells you a good deal about where Chelle sees his current squad lacking depth. [All the Turkey camp news and squad details are at FootballInNigeria.com.ng.](https://www.footballinnigeria.com.ng/news/national/chelle-names-three-debutants-as-eagles-camp-in-turkey/)<br>
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<br>One of those debutants, goalkeeper Otele, was handed his first Eagles invitation and declared fit to play ahead of the Dortmund tie. [The Otele fitness update and call-up story is at FootballInNigeria.com.ng.](https://www.footballinnigeria.com.ng/nigerians-abroad/otele-fit-for-dortmund-clash-after-first-eagles-call-up/)<br>
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<br>On top of that, a new report confirms that 13 Nigeria-eligible players are currently representing England in youth setups — a number that is growing year on year and will give future Super Eagles coaches a genuine selection headache in the best possible sense. [The full list of those 13 players is at FootballInNigeria.com.ng.](https://www.footballinnigeria.com.ng/nigerians-abroad/13-nigeria-eligible-stars-in-england-youth-squads/)<br>
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Italy's Cold Shoulder Could Hand Nigeria a €35m Forward
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<br>Italian clubs have reportedly walked away from Kayode, a forward whose market value sits in the region of €35 million. That cold shoulder from Serie A may push him toward a Super Eagles future. Adding a €35m-valued forward to the Super Eagles fold would be a genuine statement of intent by the NFF and by Chelle's rebuild. [Read the complete transfer analysis at FootballInNigeria.com.ng.](https://www.footballinnigeria.com.ng/news/transfer/italy-snub-kayode-giving-super-eagles-a-e35m-opening/)<br>
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Nigeria's Captain Has a Problem With How Morocco Won
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<br>Nigeria's skipper said the quiet part out loud: winning the Africa Cup of Nations the way Morocco did would bring him shame, not pride. It sparked debate precisely because it came from an active Super Eagles [captain](https://www.footballinnigeria.com.ng/category/match-previews-and-reviews/) with a stake in the competition — not a pundit talking from the outside. [Troost-Ekong's full comments are at FootballInNigeria.com.ng.](https://www.footballinnigeria.com.ng/news/national/troost-ekong-i-would-feel-ashamed-to-win-like-morocco/)<br>
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One Appeal. One Shot at the 2026 World Cup.
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<br>The [NFF's appeal](https://www.footballinnigeria.com.ng/category/international-nigerian-footballers/) to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against DR Congo remains Nigeria's best remaining route back into the 2026 World Cup qualifying picture. But former NFF figure Boboye has assessed the case and doesn't see it going Nigeria's way. That assessment lands heavily given the stakes. If CAS rules against Nigeria, the qualifying road is effectively over. If the federation wins, a path back into contention reopens — just. [The Boboye governance analysis is at FootballInNigeria.com.ng.](https://www.footballinnigeria.com.ng/football-governance/boboye-nffs-cas-appeal-against-dr-congo-will-fail/) [Nigeria's World Cup destiny is covered in full at FootballInNigeria.com.ng.](https://www.footballinnigeria.com.ng/news/national/nigerias-world-cup-fate-rests-on-nffs-last-appeal/)<br>
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<EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD><EFBFBD> Did You Know?
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Victor Osimhen surpassed Rashidi Yekini's all-time Super Eagles scoring record in 2024. Yekini, widely regarded as Nigeria's greatest striker before Osimhen, scored 37 goals for the national team during his career.
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Calvin Bassey was sold by Rangers to Ajax for £23 million in 2022 — one of the largest fees ever paid to a Scottish club at that point — before moving to Fulham the following year.
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Semi Ajayi was born in Lagos but grew up in London and represented England at [youth level](https://www.footballinnigeria.com.ng/category/football-history/) before switching international allegiance to Nigeria. He made his senior Super Eagles debut in 2019.
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Ademola Lookman scored a hat-trick in the 2024 Europa League final against Bayer Leverkusen — one of the most celebrated individual performances in a European final in recent history, and a defining moment in his career.
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Umar Sadiq qualifies to represent Nigeria through his father and Norway through his mother. Despite representing Nigeria at senior level, he spent time in Italian football before moving to Spain, making his dual-national journey one of the more complex in recent Eagles history.
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The NFF's CAS dispute with DR Congo stems from Nigeria's AFCON qualifier result in 2025. A successful CAS appeal overturning a confederation match decision is historically very rare, which is why Boboye's assessment carries weight.
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John Obi Mikel captained Nigeria to the 2013 AFCON title in South Africa and earned more than 90 senior caps — making him one of the most decorated players in Super Eagles history and one of the most naturally influential figures in any Nigeria dressing room he ever entered.
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