Hoffenheim central defender, Kevin Akpoguma has claimed that he turned down the chance to represent Nigeria at the 2018 World Cup because he wasn’t playing regularly for his Bundesliga club and was battling to overcome serious injuries.
Having said that, the fact is that the former Germany U20 captain enjoyed a breakout 2017-2018 and that was the reason manager Gernot Rohr approached him in the first place, with 17 starts to his name in the German top-flight while making five appearances off the bench.
Akpoguma revealed in 2018 that he would consider representing Nigeria only if he had no other option to play for Germany.
Akpoguma stated: “We are talking about three years ago, this is a different situation, you know three years ago I wasn’t even ready for Nigeria national team because I had serious injuries, I didn’t play regularly in the club, so there’s no way to go to the national team
“You have to be very good at your club before you can go to the national team and perform there also. This is the reason I decided not to come to the national team because I’m was not ready in the club physically and mentally.”
And if you are rejected you will run to Nigeria as a “star” who loves his fatherland. We only blame those who cannot select from the abundant talents we have all over Nigeria.