Three countries wanted him. Owen Oseni picked Nigeria. The 22-year-old Plymouth Argyle striker born in Waterford, Ireland has been formally called up for the Super Eagles Unity Cup squad, and the NFF has already sent the letter to his club.
Owen Oseni has been handed his first Super Eagles call-up after pledging his international future to Nigeria ahead of the upcoming Unity Cup tournament. The Plymouth Argyle striker, born on May 7, 2003 in Waterford, Ireland, qualifies for three national teams: Nigeria through his father, Ivory Coast through his mother, and the Republic of Ireland through his place of birth. He chose the Super Eagles.
The Nigeria Football Federation has sent a formal letter of invitation to Plymouth Argyle confirming Oseni’s inclusion in the Unity Cup squad. He holds a valid Nigerian passport and has not represented any of the three eligible nations at any level, meaning there are no eligibility obstacles standing between him and his debut in a green-and-white shirt.
The Numbers That Earned the Call
Oseni has had one of the more productive debut seasons at League One level in recent memory. In 33 appearances for Plymouth Argyle in the 2025/26 campaign, he scored ten goals and contributed five assists, making him a key part of the club’s promotion push. His goals kept Plymouth in the hunt for the playoffs heading into the final weeks of the season.
At 187cm, he brings a physical presence to the attack that his build disguises. He is left-footed, quick, and capable of pressing high up the pitch with the intensity that Eric Chelle specifically values from his strikers. OwnGoal Nigeria reported that Chelle was impressed not just by the goal numbers but by Oseni’s physical attributes and willingness to press, which mirrors the profile the Super Eagles head coach has been building his attack around. Fans following the Unity Cup squad can check the Bet9ja YOHAIG promo code ahead of the tournament.
A Rise That Started in the Lower Leagues
Oseni’s route to League One was neither straightforward nor fast. He began at Waterford FC’s youth set-up in Ireland before moving to Derby County’s academy in February 2023. Two loan moves followed, to Nuneaton Borough and Rushall Olympic, without breaking through at Championship level. His breakthrough came at Gateshead in the summer of 2024, where he scored 13 goals in 24 National League appearances and immediately attracted attention from higher up the English pyramid.
St Mirren signed him in January 2025 for the Scottish Premiership, but he struggled for minutes north of the border, making 11 substitute appearances without scoring. Plymouth Argyle moved quickly to sign him permanently on June 27, 2025 on a three-year deal. Tom Cleverley’s faith in him proved well placed. Ten goals in his first League One season is a return that few who watched his St Mirren loan would have predicted. Those following his Unity Cup debut can track updates at bet9japromotioncode.com.ng.
The Unity Cup Attack Chelle Is Building
Oseni will join Terem Moffi and Rafiu Durosinmi in what is shaping up as a fresh-faced Super Eagles attack for the Unity Cup. Chelle passed over Kelechi Iheanacho and Tolu Arokodare for the tournament, choosing to use the occasion to assess younger and less established options. Moffi brings European experience and physicality. Durosinmi, from relegated Pisa, brings Serie A experience. Oseni brings the unknown quantity of a player nobody has seen in a Super Eagles shirt before.
The Unity Cup takes place in London and is expected to involve games against select nations in late May 2026. It is exactly the kind of low-stakes, high-opportunity tournament where a player like Oseni can introduce himself to the national setup without the pressure of a World Cup qualifier or AFCON match. Eric Chelle has consistently used these windows to build squad depth rather than simply rotating his established names. Supporters who want to back the Super Eagles in the Unity Cup can get ready with this Bet9ja sign-up bonus before the tournament begins.
The Choice That Defined the Opportunity
The Republic of Ireland were the other serious option. Oseni was born in Waterford, one of Ireland’s oldest cities, and grew up playing football through the Irish youth system at club level. He could have waited for a call from Stephen Kenny’s successor and pursued a path through the Irish setup.
Nigeria’s appeal is clear. The Super Eagles are a team building toward the 2026 World Cup on home soil in North America, competing at the highest level of international football, and featuring players across Europe’s top leagues. For a striker who has spent his career climbing through non-league English football and the Scottish Premiership, the chance to be part of that programme is one that rarely comes twice. Oseni did not hesitate. He declared for Nigeria, the NFF picked up the phone, and now he gets his first call-up just two days after turning 22.
📌 Did You Know?
- Owen Oseni was born on May 7, 2003, in Waterford, Ireland, making the Unity Cup call-up one of the most unusual birthday presents a young footballer could receive. His formal NFF invitation arrived just two days after he turned 22, on the same day his club Plymouth Argyle were finishing their League One season.
- Waterford FC, the club where Oseni began his professional career, is one of Ireland’s oldest football clubs, founded in 1930. The club competes in the League of Ireland and has historically been one of the more productive academies in the south of the country. Oseni is the club’s most prominent graduate to receive a senior international call-up from a major footballing nation.
- Oseni scored 13 goals in 24 National League appearances for Gateshead in 2024, one of the highest scoring rates in that division during that campaign. The National League is England’s fifth tier of professional football, meaning Oseni made the jump from the fifth tier to League One in a single summer transfer, and then from League One to a Super Eagles call-up within one season.
- Tom Cleverley, Plymouth Argyle’s head coach who signed Oseni, is a former England international midfielder who had career stints at Manchester United, Everton, Aston Villa, and Watford. His willingness to pay for Oseni despite the forward’s 11-goal-less appearances at St Mirren showed a level of belief in the player’s potential that has since been validated by ten goals in League One.
- Rafiu Durosinmi, who joins Oseni in Chelle’s Unity Cup attacking options, also holds a Nigerian passport and is similarly uncapped at senior level. His season at Pisa in Serie A ended in relegation for the Italian club, but his individual performances attracted attention from clubs in multiple European leagues. The Unity Cup gives both Durosinmi and Oseni a chance to stake a claim for World Cup qualification squad consideration.
- The Republic of Ireland have a strong history of attracting dual-nationality players with Nigerian heritage through their immigration and birth-right eligibility rules. Players including John Obi Mikel and Oghenekaro Etebo were tracked by Ireland at various stages of their youth careers before committing to Nigeria. Oseni follows a long line of dual-eligible players who chose the Super Eagles over the Boys in Green, a trend that continues as Nigeria’s football profile grows globally.
- Plymouth Argyle’s Home Park stadium, where Oseni has scored his League One goals this season, holds approximately 18,000 supporters and is one of the oldest football grounds in the south-west of England, having hosted matches since 1901. The Pilgrims have had multiple spells in the Championship and have historically punched above their weight in English football, making Plymouth’s League One presence in 2025/26 a temporary staging post rather than a permanent ceiling for their ambitions.
