Chelsea's Emenalo and Ezenwata among 5 Nigerians provisionally cap-tied by England against Malta U17

The English Football Association provisionally cap-tied five talented players of Nigerian descent as the Young Lions kicked off Round 1 of the 2025 UEFA European Under-17 Championship qualifiers with a 4-0 win against Malta on Thursday morning, allnigeriasoccer.com reports. 

Chelsea duo Landon Emenalo and Chizaram Ezenwata, Liverpool forward Rio Ngumoha and West Ham United midfielder Chinaza Nwosu were all picked in the starting lineup by manager Neil Ryan for the opener at the Centenary Stadium, Ta' Qali.

By being named in the starting lineup, the aforementioned players of Nigerian descent became provisionally cap-tied to England, meaning they would have to request a change of association in line with Fifa regulations if they decide to represent the Nigeria national teams in the future.

West Ham's Andre Dike became the fifth player of Nigerian descent to be provisionally cap-tied to England by coming off the bench to replace Bendito Mantato in the 79th minute. 

A center forward by trade, Chizzy is the son of former Gombe United star Ndubuisi Ezenwata, while Landon's dad is the popular retired Nigeria international left-back Michael Emenalo who starred at the 1994 World Cup, playing as cover for the injured Benedict Iroha. 

Ezenwata was arguably the standout performer of the game, thanks to his two goals assisted by two Nigerian players. 

The Chelsea schoolboy opened the scoring in the 12th minute after he was set up by Emenalo and put his name on the scoresheet again in the 53rd minute with an improvised finish, with Ngumoha involved in the buildup to the goal.

Ezenwata is also eligible to represent Cameroon through his mother and Arizona native Emenalo qualifies for the United States where he was born. 

England's next game in the U17 Euro qualifiers comes up against Latvia on October 27.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

Copyright ANS

All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from allnigeriasoccer.com