Over a week ago Joe Aribo made his international debut for Nigeria, it was special for the 23 year-old midfielder.
Aribo, who was born in England and was eligible to play for the Three Lions, opted to suit up for Nigeria instead and he made an instant impact.
In the international friendly against Ukraine at the Dnipro Arena, he grabbed the headlines with the opening goal in a four-goal thriller.
The Scotland based player fired Nigeria into the lead before Victor Osimhen doubled for the Super Eagles inside the first 45 minutes.
However, the hosts responded in the concluding half, netting to quick goals late on to draw level and leave the arena with the eventual result 2-2.
The moment Aribo scored will be a memory to cherish; for the player, and for a long time too.
Partly because it was on his debut and more so because he did so wearing the team’s iconic number 10.
Many greats graced the number 10 for the Eagles; the likes of Jay Jay Okocha, Mikel Obi to mention a few, and the 23 year-old told brila.net he is not lost on the significance of it.
Buzzing to make my debut for @NGSuperEagles unfortunate with the result but happy to score on my debut, a special day for me & my family and one I’ll remember. Thank you God🙏🏾 🇳🇬🦅 #SoarSuperEagles pic.twitter.com/DT0Xxr08oW
— Joe Aribo (@J_Aribo19) September 11, 2019
Fortuitously, the jersey number only recently wore by former Eagles captain and 2013 AFCON winner Mikel Obi, was handed to Aribo by the kit-man.
“It (the shirt number) was given to me and I was like wow. This is such a big number because of the Legends who’ve worn it,” the midfielder explained.
Usually, Coaches allot numbers of players insists on jersey numbers, but not in this case. When he was asked, how he got the number, Aribo said, “The kit-man gave me the shirt.”
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