Taiwo Awoniyi has insisted that there is no difference between himself and fellow 2013 U17 World Cup winners Kelechi Iheanacho and Francis Uzoho.
Awoniyi didn't know he was getting an invite for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, then suddenly he was summoned to the Super Eagles at short notice after Terem Moffi, a late replacement for Alex Iwobi, suffered an injury in a league game on Sunday.
Iheanacho, the star of the 2013 class of Golden Eaglets, made his senior debut in November 2015, Uzoho earned his first cap two years later, while Awoniyi is still uncapped.
The former Liverpool striker stopped short of explicitly stating that Iheanacho and Uzoho broke into the Super Eagles squad before him because they were more favoured by the Nigeria Football Federation and coaching staff since the tournament in United Arab Emirates.
Reacting to his invitation and reuniting with ex-Golden Eaglets teammates Iheanacho and Uzoho, Awoniyi said at the pre-match press conference monitored by allnigeriasoccer.com : "That's every player's dream, you always want to wear the green-white-green for the Super Eagles.
"For me it will be something great for me which I'll be very,very,very happy about, being the fact that I've played in the youth before and doing it again for the Super Eagles is something I'll really be thankful to God for.
"With Kelechi and Uzoho, they've always been the good guys, they've always been the guys they have and meeting them is something I'm happy about because I don't see much difference in terms of their personalities and the way we are.
"They welcomed me quite good and it's just something great to be able to see each other after a couple of years.
"It's an honor and a privilege to be part of this team, with the kind of talent, with the kind of great players we have in the country, and once you have that kind of call you should know it's an honour, I'm very happy, I'm glad about it".
"For me it will be something great for me which I'll be very,very,very happy about, being the fact that I've played in the youth before and doing it again for the Super Eagles is something I'll really be thankful to God for.
"With Kelechi and Uzoho, they've always been the good guys, they've always been the guys they have and meeting them is something I'm happy about because I don't see much difference in terms of their personalities and the way we are.
"They welcomed me quite good and it's just something great to be able to see each other after a couple of years.
"It's an honor and a privilege to be part of this team, with the kind of talent, with the kind of great players we have in the country, and once you have that kind of call you should know it's an honour, I'm very happy, I'm glad about it".
In twelve outings for Union Berlin in 2021-2022, Awoniyi has found the net on eight occasions and registered two assists.
Ifeanyi Emmanuel
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