Super Eagles defender, Ola Aina, has revealed how his family reacted to his first-ever call-up to represent Nigeria.
Aina, who was born in London, was eligible to play for the Three Lions of England after playing for their U-20 team.
He started his club career at Chelsea having joined the London club’s U-11 team in 2012.
Aina made his first-team debut for Chelsea against Wimbledon in 2014, but he struggled to get playing time at Stamford Bridge before joining Torino in June 2019.
He has been impressive for Torino in the Italian Serie A, which has made him a target for various premier league clubs.
He pledged his international allegiance to Nigeria in May 2017, and he also obtained a Nigerian passport in preparation to play for the Super Eagles.
Aina said on Instagram Live that his first call-up got his family members excited.
“It was good, my dad was buzzing because obviously, he is a proper Nigerian man.
“Even my uncle said, ‘wow you are playing for Nigeria now, God bless you, you will put our name on the map’, they were happy”.
Aina made his Super Eagles debut against Zambia in a World Cup qualifier in 2017. He was part of the Super Eagles team that finished third at the 2019 African Nations Cup in Egypt.
He is fondly remembered for his sublime assist for Ighalo in the second match against Burundi.