Super Eagles striker, Cyriel Dessers has expressed his delight at returning to the national team and is determined to make the most of the opportunity.
The 30-year-old forward was included in coach Eric Chelle’s squad for the four-nation tournament in London.
Speaking to NFF TV, Dessers described the call-up as a proud moment and reaffirmed his passion for representing Nigeria.
“I’m very happy to be back here,” he said. “It’s always an honour to get called up to be with the boys, the staff.
“When you look in the mirror, you see Nigeria. At the moment I got the call, I didn’t have to think about it for a long time. When you get the call you want to go, I went.”
Although Dessers has featured for the Super Eagles in the past, his appearances have been limited to friendly matches. He now hopes to cement a place in the squad for major tournaments.
“I’ve had a few beautiful moments with the national team already, but I hope to add big tournaments. It would be a dream, almost like the completion of my career, if I could go to a big tournament with Nigeria and hopefully win something.”
Dessers also emphasized the importance of the Unity Cup, especially as it offers the team a chance to face long-time rivals Ghana in front of a large Nigerian community in London.
“It’s an exciting tournament to play in, especially here in London where we have a lot of Nigerians,” he said.
“You can call it a friendly, but I don’t think we’ll treat it like that. Obviously, We want to win and make our people proud.”
He backed up his words with action, opening the scoring against Ghana in Wednesday’s clash. Super Eagles went on to defeat the Black Stars 2–1 to book a place in the final against Jamaica.
Since making his debut for Nigeria in October 2020, Dessers has now earned seven caps and scored three goals for the national team.
