Recently invited to the Super Eagles squad, Igho Ogbu has disclosed that he turned down an opportunity to play for Norway, patiently waiting for his dream of representing Nigeria to come true.
Ogbu, a member of the Flying Eagles team in 2019, moved to Norway a year earlier and was offered a chance to switch allegiance during his final campaign with Lillestrøm. After leaving Gombe United in 2018, the defender played for five different clubs—four of them in Norway—before securing a high-profile transfer to Czech giants Slavia Prague for a record €2.5 million fee in January 2023.
Reflecting on his choice to decline Norway’s offer, Ogbu revealed that it was a deeply personal decision, influenced by his late father’s wishes.
“There was a chance to play for Norway in my last season with Lillestrøm,” he told SCORENigeria. “But I always knew that I would also get my chance with the Super Eagles.”
His patience eventually paid off this year when he earned a place in coach Eric Chelle’s 23-man squad for the crucial 2026 World Cup qualifying matches against Rwanda and Zimbabwe.
The 25-year-old defender linked up with his Nigerian teammates on Monday night at their training camp in Kigali, preparing for the upcoming fixtures. Ogbu heads into his first international assignment on the back of an impressive performance in Slavia Prague’s 3-0 triumph over FK Jablonec in the Czech Fortuna Liga on Sunday, where he opened the scoring. This marked his second goal of the season in 20 league outings.
Meanwhile, Slavia Prague’s head coach, Jindřich Trpišovský, lauded the Nigerian centre-back, emphasizing his unique ability to influence the game at both ends of the pitch despite being primarily a defensive player.
“Igoh usually defends the opponent’s best player and can be dominant in duels,” Trpišovský told Slavia Prague’s official website. “He has calmed down recently, feels good, and I think it was his first goal with his left foot in his career.”
