He is now a full international with the Super Eagles. Still, Ola Aina was disappointed to have missed out from the 2018 World Cup squad
Former Chelsea star, Ola Aina has revealed it was a disappointment that he missed the 2018 World Cup, but he did not dwell on it too much.
Born in England to Nigerian parents, Aina decided to play for the Nigerian national team, and he made his debut in the Super Eagles World Cup qualifier against Zambia at Uyo in 2017.
Aina came on as a substitute in the encounter as Nigeria secured their place at the 2018 World Cup courtesy of an Alex Iwobi winner.
Following his cameo against Zambia, Aina went on to feature in the final qualifying clash against Algeria. At the same time, he also played in the pre-World Cup friendlies against Argentina, Poland, Serbia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
However, he missed out on Gernot Rohr's final 23-man squad, and it was a decision that left him disappointed.
“I was disappointed,” Aina told the Supersub. But it was… I always say God’s time is the best time. I didn’t really get too down on myself.
“I just worked hard and tried to put it behind me and support the team from home. I wasn’t really dwelling on it as much as I thought I would. But yeah, initially it was a big disappointment. I felt like I should have gone.”
In the game against DR Congo, Aina gave away a penalty, and it was suggested to him that the incident may have played a role in Rohr's decision. But the Fulham star won't dwell on that, saying it is part of football.
“I don’t know whether that (the penalty give-away) made the decision for the coach, I don’t know. Maybe it did, maybe it did not. These things happen in football, you know,” Aina added.
