Another Super Eagles Prospect?

GLOBAL
SOCCER

David Odogu

Though Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets did not qualify for the U17 World Cup taking place in Indonesia, but when the final match between Germany and France kicks off today, attention of Nigerian soccer fans will be on one of the stars of the competition – David Odogu, whose contributions helped Germany to the final. With the Super Eagles flocked with players of Nigerian descent, Odogu may in years to come join the bandwagon except he can show exceptional improvement and consistency that will attract attention of the Die Mannschaft, otherwise, the Super Eagles is always be a solace

The Nigeria senior national team is brimming with players who only pledged their nationality to Nigeria but not to serve the country with all their might. Little wonder when Nigeria’s national anthem is being rendered before the kickoff of a match, more than half of the players were not able to recite it because they were not born in the country, and only opted to play for the three-time African champions after failing to make the cut of the country of their birth, in spite of having played for them at age-grade levels.

The list is endless; from Leon Balogun to William Troost-Ekong; from Victor Moses to Alex Iwobi; from Carl Ikeme to Brian Idowu and to Ademola Lookman who indeed won the U20 World Cup with England to mention but a few.

The list will continue to grow in the coming years as long as there is no proper football development in the country and the Nigeria Premier Football League, NPFL, remains a glorified Principals Cup.

Though David Odogu is doing the business for Germany at the U17 World Cup presently, only time will tell if in years to come like others before him be would be switching nationality to Nigeria.

The Germany Under-17 team sealed their place in the final of today’s FIFA Under-17 World Cup after defeating Argentina via penalties.

The Germans have had a pretty solid tournament, and aside from the game against Argentina, they have kept a decent defensive record. Before the semifinal, Germany conceded only four goals in five games and a key reason for their good record is 17-year-old David Odogu. The Wolfsburg-trained defender has played all of Germany’s games at the World Cup and has proven to be a stalwart.

According to Sofascore, per game, Odogu has registered 1.7 interceptions, 3 tackles, 3.3 ball recoveries, 4.3 clearances, and 47 touches.

Odogu was born on June 3, 2006, in Germany to a Nigerian father, but he currently plays for Germany. The youngster has risen through the ranks in German football as he played for the Under-16s before playing for the Under-17 team. The decision has already started paying off as he won the Under-17 EUROS with Germany earlier this year.

He started his football journey with Union Berlin before switching to Wolfsburg in 2020. Odogu is a traditional central defender and can play on the right or left of central defence.

Standing at 6’2, the 17-year-old has a good height for a central defender, and he is also very fast. Also, Odogu is confident and uses the ball well when he is in possession. His attributes have placed him as one of the top talents to watch out for in German football. He has already made 11 appearances already for the German Under 17s.

In recent years, there has been an influx of abroad-trained footballers into the Super Eagles. Leon Balogun, Troost Ekong, Joe Aribo, Ademola Lookman, and Jordan Torunarigha are some Super Eagles stars who chose to represent the country despite being eligible to play for other European countries.

Odogu could still join that train, because, according to FIFA rules, he is still eligible to play for the Super Eagles because he is yet to play for the Germany senior team.

VfL Wolfsburg last year announced that talented German-Nigerian central defender has extended his contract. The Wolves confirmed that Odogu has put pen to paper on a long-term contract, approximately two years after he joined the club from Union Berlin.

Odogu started for Wolfsburg U19s in Premier League International Cup matches against Blackburn Rovers and Wolverhampton Wanderers in October and December respectively, going the distance in both matches.

The then 16-year-old was capped three times by Germany at U16 level and has made two appearances for the U17s.

However, the center back keeps abreast of happenings with the Nigeria national team by following the Super Eagles on social media.

Wolfsburg head coach Niko Kovac gave Odogu minutes in a friendly against Premier League side Brentford.

However, if Odogu reaches the top of his game it is unlikely that he will decide to play for Nigeria.