A Nigeria international has revealed Lionel Messi inspired him to want to play for the Super Eagles ahead of England.
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At 24 years old, Fulham centre-back Calvin Bassey has been capped 28 times for the Nigerian national team since his debut in March 2022.
The defender, however, was eligible to play for Italy, where he was born, and England after being raised in the country and coming through Leicester City's academy.
Bassey has now explained how, when he was still finding his feet as a youth player, it was Messi's sublime goal against Nigeria at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia that inspired him to want to represent the Super Eagles at the highest level.
"When Nigeria played Argentina, they lost 2-1 but it was a good game," he told Sky Sports.
"Messi, of course – Messi is Messi – he scored that outrageous goal. I think it was knee, left foot, then right foot. It was top.
"But that was more of motivation to me to want to play for Nigeria and also play on the big stage."
Watch the video below to see the goal:
The 2018 World Cup in Russia would prove to be anything but an ideal return for Messi.Argentina scraped into the knockout stage only by his stunning goal against Nigeria before Marcos Rojo's late winner ??(via @CONMEBOLBR)pic.twitter.com/eGMbU9GSup
— B/R Football (@brfootball) December 13, 2022
Bassey, who moved on from Leicester to play for Rangers in Scotland and later Ajax Amsterdam in the Netherlands, was an important member of the Nigeria side that went to the final of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
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The centre-back is currently a regular for Marco Silva's Fulham, having played every minute of the team's Premier League campaign so far this season.
By Kurt Buckerfield
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