Ifeanyi Mathew, according to former head coach of the Golden Eaglets and Flying Eagles Manu Garba, will be a valuable addition to the Super Eagles.
Since the former captain of the team, John Mikel Obi, stepped away from international football, the Super Eagles have struggled to find creative midfield players.
Despite his strong club play, Mathew, a former Flying Eagles and local Super Eagles midfielder, has not been considered for the national squad by the selectors.
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This season, the 26-year-old has been playing fantastically for FC Zurich, a Swiss team.
In 15 league games this season for FC Zurich in the Swiss Super League, the gifted midfielder has one goal and three assists.
According to Garba, Mathew has the potential to be a major player for the Super Eagles.
“When I was the head coach of the Golden Eaglets in Kano in 2013, I came across Ifeanyi Mathew with Musa Muhammad,” Garba said to Obasanjo News24.
Matthew was also a key member of my squad that participated in and won the 2015 U-20 FIFA World Cup in New Zealand, as well as the U-20 AFCON in Senegal.
“I have been driving his development from the time he was in Sweden until the present, when he is in Switzerland.”
“His arrival to the Super Eagles will be a great value addition to the team ahead of AFCON, especially in the midfield area where the coach obviously needs to work on going by the two games against Lesotho and Zimbabwe during the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. He is currently the most consistent Nigerian midfielder in Europe.”
“Apart from his talent for long-range goals, one of his best attributes is his vision in linking the attack and defence.”
“If you watch our U-20 campaign in Senegal in 2015, he was largely responsible for most of the goals we scored.”
Under coach Sunday Oliseh, Mathew was also a part of the homegrown Super Eagles team that competed in the 2016 Africa Nations Championship.
