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Alex Iwobi reveals why he snubbed England for Nigeria

November 16, 2017

Alex Iwobi has revealed why he chose to represent Nigeria rather than England.

[caption id="attachment_41605" align="alignleft" width="800"]The 21-year-old featured for the Three Lions youth teams before switching allegiance to represent his country of birth The 21-year-old featured for the Three Lions youth teams before switching allegiance to represent his country of birth[/caption]

The midfielder, after appearing for England U16, U17 and U18 sides, switched allegiance to his country of birth in 2015. And he has gone on to make 11 appearances with the Super Eagles scoring four goals which includes his strike against Zambia that secured a World Cup berth.

And he has said that having a lot of ties to the country made it easier for him to play for the three-time Africa champions.

“I was growing up in England and England was the only national team I knew, so I was actually very pleased to play at the national level," Iwobi told Soccer Laduma.

"However, my family are all from Nigeria, I was born in Nigeria, my uncle (Jay-Jay Okocha) is a legend in Nigeria.

"That's why I thought I would give it a chance. That's why I went to the U23s and somehow felt more welcome, and I thought it's where I belong, so I made the decision to switch."

Iwobi was in blistering form on Tuesday where he weighed in with two well-taken goals as the Super Eagles shocked Argentina with a 4-2 victory in a friendly outing in Krasnodar.

*Sporting News/Yahoo

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