Euro 2024 squads: Bukayo Saka, ex-Super Eagles invitee, 5 other 'Nigerians' to watch out for 

Governing body of football in Europe, UEFA on Thursday confirmed the 24-team rosters for the 2024 European Championship, which runs from 14 June to 14 July in Germany, with seven players of Nigerian descent making the cut. 

Ten different venues will host the 2024 Euro including Berlin (Olympiastadion Berlin), Cologne (Cologne Stadium), Dortmund (BVB Stadion Dortmund), Düsseldorf (Düsseldorf Arena), Frankfurt (Frankfurt Arena), Gelsenkirchen (Arena AufSchalke), Hamburg (Volskparkstadion Hamburg), Leipzig (Leipzig Stadium), Munich (Allianz Arena) and Stuttgart (Stuttgart Arena).

In this piece, allnigeriasoccer.com highlights the seven 'Nigerian' players to keep an eye on at the 2024 European Championship.

1) Bukayo Saka (Arsenal/England): The inverted winger has been named in the Three Lions squad after an outstanding season that saw him register 20 goals and 14 assists in 47 appearances across all competitions.

Saka was heavily courted by former Nigeria Football Federation president Amaju Pinnick before the Londoner became cap-tied to his country of birth. Has scored 11 goals in 33 matches for the 1966 world champions.

2) Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace/England): Eze trained with the Super Eagles in 2017 and held formal talks with the Nigerian Federation over the possibility of playing for the Super Eagles before the 2022 World Cup.

The attacking midfielder has gatecrashed England's Euro squad after a breakout campaign at Crystal Palace. 

3) Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich/Germany) : One of the standout young players at the 2022 World Cup, Musiala was eligible to represent the Super Eagles through his father as well as England where he grew up. 

Former Super Eagles coach Gernort Rohr attempted to convince him to switch his allegiance to Nigeria but was unsuccessful. 

4) Manuel Akanji (Manchester City/Switzerland) :Previously, he qualified to represent Nigeria through his father and was given the middle name Obafemi in honor of former Nigerian international Obafemi Martins.

The Switzerland number 5, who has visited Nigeria numerous times, takes great pride in his Nigerian heritage.

5) Noah Okafor (AC Milan/Switzerland) : Another dual-national player who does not shy away from his Nigerian roots.

The exciting winger is set to represent Switzerland in his second major tournament after featuring in the 2022 World Cup, where he was a bit part player due to fitness issues. Has scored two goals in 22 outings for the Swiss. 

6) Michael Folorunsho (Napoli/Italy): Folorunsho had a remarkable season for loan club Hellas Verona, scoring five goals from his central midfield position. This week, he made his debut for the Italians in a 1-0 win versus Bosnia-Herzegovina, coming off the bench for the last fourteen minutes. 

Listed as a forward on the official website of UEFA, his versatility means he can be deployed in a number of positions.

7) Joshua Zirkzee (Bologna/Netherlands): The Bayern Munich product will become cap-tied to his country of birth if he makes his senior debut at the Euros. Zirkzee was on the radar of ex-Nigeria coach, Gernot Rohr, who scouted him on his full Bundesliga debut against Hoffenheim in February 2020.

In the recently concluded season, the Bologna number 9 established a reputation as one of the hottest young players on the planet, registering nineteen goal involvements in 37 games. 

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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