New England Revolution midfielder Alhassan Yusuf has earned a return to Eric Chelle’s Super Eagles plans on the back of a string of performances that have turned heads across MLS this season, including an eye-catching duel with Lionel Messi.
Alhassan Yusuf is back in the Super Eagles fold. The New England Revolution midfielder was named in Eric Chelle’s squad for the Unity Cup and the June friendly matches against Poland and Portugal, as reported by FootballInNigeria.com.ng. His inclusion in both squads means Yusuf could feature in as many as four Nigeria games over the next month.
The 25-year-old missed out on the final squad for the 2025 AFCON tournament despite being included in the preliminary group. That snub stung, but rather than fading away, Yusuf responded with the kind of form that makes it hard for any coach to keep looking elsewhere. His season for the Revs has been one of quiet, consistent authority in central midfield, and Chelle has clearly been watching.
The Performances That Made Chelle Take Notice
Yusuf has made 13 appearances for New England this season, starting 10 of those games and chipping in with two goals. The goal that caught most attention came on April 11 against DC United at Gillette Stadium, where he settled a tight contest with the only strike of the match in the 35th minute. Goalkeeper Matt Turner backed him up with five saves in what was New England’s second consecutive clean sheet.
The performance against Inter Miami carried even more weight for Nigerian football observers. Yusuf was stationed in the engine room when Lionel Messi and his teammates came to town, and he more than held his own. He completed all of his long passes on the night, won seven duels, and registered 11 defensive actions. The moment that circulated most widely was a clean dispossession of Messi that immediately triggered a Revolution counterattack. Those are the kinds of clips that travel fast on social media, and they did. Fans who want to back Yusuf and the Super Eagles through the Unity Cup can check the Bet9ja promotion code ahead of Nigeria’s opener against Zimbabwe on May 26.
He followed that up with another strong showing as New England beat Minnesota United 2-1 last weekend, completing a run of form that left Chelle with little reason to keep him waiting any longer. New England currently sit third in the Eastern Conference, and Yusuf’s influence in midfield is a significant reason for that positioning.
A Career Built Across Three Continents
Yusuf’s route to professional football is not the typical one. Born in Kano, he travelled to Sweden as a teenager to participate in the Gothia Cup with Tiki-Taka Academy. His performances there earned him a professional contract with IFK Goteborg, where he spent three seasons in the Swedish Allsvenskan before moving to Royal Antwerp in Belgium. He was part of the Antwerp squad that ended the club’s 66-year wait for a Belgian league title in the 2022-23 season, adding a Belgian Cup and Belgian Super Cup to his collection before crossing the Atlantic in August 2024.
New England paid a reported $2-3 million to land him, and the investment has paid off steadily. In 2025, he was one of only two players to appear in all 34 MLS regular season games, recording 32 starts in the process. The consistency was rewarded with a Member of the Order of the Niger, one of Nigeria’s highest national honours, following his contribution to the Super Eagles’ runners-up finish at the 2023 AFCON. New Bet9ja users who want to follow Nigeria’s qualifying campaign can grab the Nigeria’s top Bet9ja code before the tournament kicks off.
What His Return Means for the Super Eagles
Yusuf’s Super Eagles career began with a debut in a pre-AFCON friendly against Guinea in January 2024, a 2-0 defeat, but he worked his way into the starting picture by the time the tournament proper began. He made three appearances at the 2023 AFCON, including in the final against Ivory Coast, as Nigeria finished runners-up. He was also involved in the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign, though he remained an unused substitute during the CAF playoff against DR Congo, the match that ultimately cost Nigeria a place at the tournament.
That playoff exit is still raw. Nigeria now faces a busy June programme that doubles as an audition for the squad Chelle wants to build ahead of the 2027 AFCON qualifiers. Yusuf’s inclusion in both the Unity Cup and the June friendlies suggests the coach sees him as a genuine option rather than a short-term filler. Before linking up with the national team in London, Yusuf is expected to play for New England Revolution against Charlotte this weekend. Super Eagles fans looking to place a wager on Nigeria’s Unity Cup run can use the Bet9ja bonus code to get started with an enhanced opening offer.
📌 Did You Know?
- Alhassan Yusuf’s full name is Alhassan Yusuf Abdullahi Pigui. He was born on July 18, 2000, in Kano, Northern Nigeria, making him one of the younger central midfielders in the current Super Eagles setup.
- Yusuf was named the 2019 Allsvenskan Newcomer of the Year in Sweden while playing for IFK Goteborg, his first professional club, which he joined as a teenager after impressing at the Gothia Cup youth tournament.
- Royal Antwerp’s 2022-23 Belgian Pro League title, which Yusuf was part of, ended the club’s 66-year trophy drought in the Belgian top flight. They had last won the league in 1957.
- Yusuf wore jersey number 80 for New England Revolution, an unusual squad number for a central midfielder that reflects the administrative quirks of the MLS roster system rather than his status within the squad.
- The Unity Cup, which kicks off on May 26, is a four-nation invitational tournament hosted in England that Nigeria have previously won. Chelle has named a largely experimental squad for the competition to give fringe players competitive minutes.
- Yusuf’s transfer fee to New England Revolution from Royal Antwerp was reportedly between $2 million and $3 million, making him one of the more expensive Nigerian players to move into MLS in recent seasons.
- Nigeria’s June friendlies against Poland and Portugal will be some of the toughest test matches the Super Eagles face before the AFCON 2027 qualifying campaign begins. Portugal are ranked among the world’s top five nations heading into the summer.
