Owen Oseni: Nigeria call-up stuns Plymouth Argyle striker

Plymouth Argyle striker Owen Oseni says he was in “disbelief” when he was called up to the Nigeria squad.

The 23-year-old is part of the group that will play Poland and Portugal next month in pre-World Cup friendly matches.

He will also feature in the group playing in the Unity Cup in London later this month against Zimbabwe and then India or Jamaica.

“I know I had an alright season, but to get called up for a country where there’s more than 240 million people and probably 50% want to play for their country was quite a big deal for me so I was really buzzing,” Oseni told BBC Sport.

“The coaches were watching me, obviously they picked up on the form I’d hit just towards the end of the season.”

Oseni found the net three times in Plymouth’s final four games of their League One campaign, where they narrowly missed out on a place in the play-offs.

The Irish-born forward ended his first spell in the English Football League with 10 goals from 33 appearances, having joined Plymouth last summer from Scottish side St Mirren after a spell with National League club Gateshead.

Oseni is eligible for Nigeria through his father, while his mother is from Ivory Coast, meaning he could represent the Elephants as well as the Republic of Ireland.

“I’d love to represent any country on a national level,” he says. “It’s massive for me and my career and Nigeria, the Super Eagles, when they came knocking, it was a decision that I couldn’t turn down.

“I didn’t think there was a possibility that that could happen. All I know is to just work hard and many doors could open, but I definitely didn’t think that I would be one of them.”