Former Nigeria captain Nwankwo Kanu has told the Super Eagles to shrug off the disappointment of seeing Chelsea stars Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori called up by England.
Gareth Southgate rewarded the pair for their fine start to the season by naming them in his squad for Euro 2020 qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Bulgaria later this month.
Former Arsenal favourite Kanu insisted Nigeria should “move on” and still had enough top players to cope with missing out on the two Premier League stars. “That’s football and I think we have enough quality and we can win matches without them,” he said.
“We can’t continue to beg one player to play for us. Nigeria cannot beg, players have to beg Nigeria.”
Abraham, 22, who has won two caps for the Three Lions in friendlies against Brazil and Germany in 2017, had flirted with switching his international allegiance to the country who he qualifies for through his father. Centre-back Tomori, 21, is also eligible to represent Nigeria and Canada at international level.
Nigeria Football Federation officials had repeatedly tried to convince Abraham to change his international allegiance but he looks set to slip through their grasp by playing a competitive match for England.
In the past the Super Eagles have convinced players like Victor Moses and Sone Aluko, who played for England at youth level, to represent the West African nation.