Bazunu, Obafemi Among 5 Super Eagles Eligible Players Who Ignored Nigeria to Play for Irish National Team

• A number of Nigeria's eligible players have decided to play for the Irish national football team
• Impressive goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu was linked with Nigeria, but he opted for Ireland
• The 25-year-old Chiedozie Ogbene who was born in Lagos is also playing for Ireland

Nigeria continues to lose some of their finest stars to other countries as five Super Eagles-eligible players have decided to feature for the Irish national football team.

France found the Irish team a hard nut to crack as Les Blues managed to win the UEFA Euro qualifying encounter 1-0 on Monday night.

Five members of the squad were eligible to play for Africa’s most-populous black nation Nigeria, but they decided to feature for Ireland.

Here are 5 Nigeria-eligible players who ignored Nigeria to play for Ireland:

1. Gavin Bazunu

The impressive goalkeeper was born in Dublin and raised in the suburb of Firhouse. He is of Nigerian descent and was once linked with the national team.

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A local coach once told former Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr to invite the young goalkeeper during his time with Manchester City.

Bazunu currently features for Premier League club Southampton and the Irish national football team.

2. Chiedozie Ogbene

The 25-year-old forward was born in Lagos Nigeria, but his family moved to Ireland in 2005 as his dad secured a job there.

His father had to reject an offer from Florida in the process as well. The kids grew up in the Grange area of Cork.

Ogbene currently plays for EFL side Rotherham United and has featured 15 times for the Irish national football team, scoring four goals.

3. Michael Obafemi

Born in Dublin to Nigerian parents, Obafemi was an infant when his family moved to England, and he was raised in London.

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His older brother Afolabi Obafemi is also a footballer.

4. Adam Idah

Idah’s mother is Irish while his father is Nigerian. He currently plays for English club Burnley, on loan from Swansea City.

He was eligible to play for Nigeria, England and Ireland, but decided to choose the Irish national team after earning a call-up in 2018.

He made his debut in November that year and has so far featured in 9 international matches, scoring 2 goals.

5. Andrew Omobamidele

The 20-year-old defender was born in Leixlip, Ireland, to a Nigerian father and an Irish mother.

As a youth, he played for the Dublin District Schoolboys League representative side alongside fellow future Irish international Gavin Bazunu.

He currently plays for English Premier League Norwich City and has earned 6 caps for the Irish national team.

Why I chose Germany over Nigeria - Schade

Sports Brief earlier reported that as the Nigeria Football Federation is set to make attempt to lure Kevin Schade to play for the Super Eagles, the Freiburg winger has said he prefers to play for Germany.

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The 20-year-old, who was born in Potsdam, Germany, is eligible to play for his country of birth as well as Nigeria, as the origin country of his parents respectively.

Schade was part of the Freiburg side that defeated French team Nantes 4-0 in the Europa League.