Wrexham's Arthur Okonkwo earns first Nigeria call-up for Poland and Portugal friendlies

[p]Despite previously representing England at U16, U17, and U18 levels, the former Arsenal youngster switched his international allegiance to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/nigeria/EBE2Xb3l/"]Nigeria[/a] and has now been rewarded with a place in Eric Chelle’s squad.[/p][p]The Super Eagles coach continues rebuilding his team following Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/okwonko-arthur/WjvelGST/"]Okonkwo[/a] among the fresh faces selected for the high-profile European clashes.[/p][embed guid="cd50b4e7-f8bf-4e36-b617-e40b1473e355" url="https://x.com/NGSuperEagles/status/2057065393756274845" social-type="twitter" /][p]Also earning a first senior invitation is Plymouth striker [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/oseni-owen/8bDTjXFq/"]Oseni Owen[/a], while [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/nwabili-stanley/f7Sr6Oxg/"]Stanley Nwabali[/a] was a notable omission after recently becoming a free agent following his departure from South African side Chippa United.[/p][p]Galatasaray star [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/osimhen-victor/23YHG47R/"]Victor Osimhen[/a] headlines the squad alongside Atletico Madrid forward [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lookman-ademola/8QK1SO5g/"]Ademola Lookman[/a] and Fulham trio [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/iwobi-alex/2L5gbR8M/"]Alex Iwobi[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bassey-calvin/faJVc0Mk/"]Calvin Bassey[/a], and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/chukwueze-samuel/niW1cP0k/"]Samuel Chukwueze[/a].[/p][p]In goal, Udinese shot-stopper [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/okoye-maduks/Gr6T6rIt/"]Maduka Okoye[/a] will compete with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/uzoho-francis/pYft7bNo/"]Francis Uzoho[/a] and Okonkwo for the number one shirt.[/p][p]The defensive department includes [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/onyemaechi-sopuruchukwu-bruno/xjMcnc2e/"]Bruno Onyemaechi[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/zaidu/Wr0Iog1G/"]Zaidu Sanusi[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ajayi-semi/2qbYQ9um/"]Semi Ajayi[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/osayi-samuel-bright/K8EVlkle/"]Bright Osayi[/a]-Samuel, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/fernandez-emmanuel/KWRglvco/"]Emmanuel Fernandez[/a], and Slavia Prague defender [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ogbu-igoh/QkyQ3g8t/"]Igoh Ogbu[/a].[/p][p]Nigeria’s attacking options are boosted by Turkish Super Lig joint-top scorer [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/onuachu-paul/IyYJsXYg/"]Paul Onuachu[/a], Sevilla striker [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/adams-akor/nks9eiQ4/"]Akor Adams[/a], FC Porto’s [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/moffi-teremas/ny2HpVKp/"]Terem Moffi[/a], and Nantes winger [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/simon-moses/Cj5rnjpG/"]Moses Simon[/a].[/p][p]The three-time African champions will face [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lewandowski-robert/MVC8zHZD/"]Robert Lewandowski[/a]’s [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/poland/2HzmcynI/"]Poland[/a] on June 3 at the PGE Narodowy Stadium in Warsaw before travelling to Leiria to take on [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ronaldo-cristiano/WGOY4FSt/"]Cristiano Ronaldo[/a]’s [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/portugal/WvJrjFVN/"]Portugal[/a] seven days later.[/p][h2][b]NIGERIA FULL SQUAD[/b][/h2][p][b]Goalkeepers[/b]: Maduka Okoye (Udinese FC, Italy); Arthur Okonkwo (Wrexham FC, England); Francis Uzoho (Omonia FC, Cyprus)[/p][p][b]Defenders:[/b] Oluwasemilogo Ajayi (Hull City, England); Calvin Bassey (Fulham FC, England); Bright Osayi-Samuel (Birmingham City, England); Bruno Onyemaechi (Olympiakos, Greece); Zaidu Sanusi (FC Porto, Portugal); Igoh Ogbu (Slavia Prague, Czech Republic); Emmanuel Fernandez (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland)[/p][p][b]Midfielders:[/b] Alex Iwobi (Fulham FC, England); [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/onyeka-ogochukwu/trmcDRt1/"]Frank Onyeka[/a] (Coventry FC, England); [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ndidi-wilfred/E71XyFGi/"]Wilfred Ndidi[/a] (Besiktas FC, Turkey); [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/onyedika-raphael/lGk4guoq/"]Raphael Onyedika[/a] (Club Brugge, Belgium); [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/dele-bashiru-fisayo/AF8BqWgI/"]Fisayo Dele-Bashiru[/a] (SS Lazio, Italy); [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/nnadi-tochukwu/CGRkJ7rQ/"]Tochukwu Nnadi[/a] (Olympique Marseille, France); [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/yusuf-alhassan/naY5y3Ap/"]Alhassan Yusuf[/a] (New England Revolution, USA)[/p][p][b]Forwards: [/b]Ademola Lookman (Atletico Madrid, Spain); Samuel Chukwueze (Fulham FC, England); Moses Simon (Paris FC, France); Paul Onuachu (Trabzonspor AS, Turkey); Akor Adams (Sevilla FC, Spain); Victor Osimhen (Galatasaray FC, Turkey); Terem Moffi (FC Porto, Portugal)  [/p][image alt="Shina Oludare" id="77f4edee-493b-45e2-b24b-0d9a1e05766a" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="e39c6346-b445-4ecf-bef8-198c5dc99c6f" original-width="1200" original-height="381" /]