Chile 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup-winning captain with the Golden Eaglets, Kelechi Nwakali has received am massive flood of rave reviews in his favour, following his stunning goal against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday in Uyo.
Although Nigeria’s b-squad eventually lost the match at Godswill Akpabio International Stadium 2-3, Nwakali was named man of the match and his standout performance has now led to many fans calling for his inclusion in Nigeria’s World Cup squad.
Nwakali’s sublime hit from range in the 31st minute gave the Super Eagles B team the lead but Angel Correa restored parity for the newly crowned UEFA Europa League champions a minute later.
Fernando Torres came on as a second half substitute to make it 2-1 for Atletico Madrid in the 64th minute before Usman Mohammed levelled scores for the Nigerian side after bamboozle the Atletico defence with lovely foot work in the penalty area.
Borja Baston sealed the win for Atletico Madrid five minutes from time, firing in off a defence-splitting pass.
Though rave reviews are trailing his performance, Nwakali, who has a running contract with Arsenal of England, is staying humble and says he can only wait for time to play out what his career holds in store.
Nwakali also played down his exclusion from Nigeria’s provisional squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, but believes the Eagles possess quality players to deliver in Russia
Nwakali was one of the standout performers for the Salisu Yusuf’s team in the encounter on Tuesday, during which he scored the first of Nigeria’s two goals.
“It was a good game from our team, I didn’t expect this kind of performance from our team because we came only three days to the game.
“We thank God for the opportunity from the coach. The team build-up and play was awesome.
“It was a thing of joy for his achieving the feat. We will work harder and keep pushing until we get there.
“The coach decides who he picks and I believe he has a right to do so. We have the players to succeed in Russia if they put their mind to it.”
