The chances of QPR midfielder Ebere Eze turning out for the Super Eagles when they begin the qualifiers for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations next month appears to be very slim, Owngoalnigeria.com can exclusively reveal.
Eze is widely viewed as one of the most creative midfielder in the English Championship with back to back impressive performances for QPR. Last weekend he scored twice from the spot to hand them a 3-1 win away to Hull City.
Coach of the Super Eagles of Nigeria Gernot Rohr has a long standing interest in luring the midfielder to the Super Eagles and Eze isn’t opposed to the idea. He even trained with the Super Eagles in 2017 during their training tour of England.
Rohr has maintained that the player will need some paperwork to be done before he can switch to Nigeria as he has represented England at U21 level in a competitive game. That claim was severally contested by many but checks by this portal can confirm that Rohr is indeed right.
The 22 year old made his debut for the U20 on the 11th of October 2018 against Italy in the UEFA Elite League competition. A tournament which is viewed as competitive meaning he will require clearance from FIFA to play for Nigeria. That wouldn’t have been the case if he had only played in a friendly game or not at all.
Getting FIFA to approve a switch of nationality for players who have represented England requires lot of time and it ranges between 12 to 14 months before it’s done. That effectively means Eze will not be in the Super Eagles squad for the AFCON 2021 Qualifiers game against Benin Republic and Lesotho respectively next month.
