Super Eagles stars Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey have revealed that their favorite African dishes are pounded yam and jollof rice, Soccernet.ng reports.
Bassey was born in Italy but moved to England, while Iwobi was born in Lagos but moved to England when he was still a child and grew up there.
However, both of them have adapted to Nigeria’s culture since they started playing for the Super Eagles. The Fulham stars often use Nigerian slang or use a Nigerian accent when speaking. They also have a good relationship with most of their national teammates.
Iwobi started a YouTube show recently, and he had Bassey as his guest. Both of them answered some questions, and one was about their best African dishes.
Iwobi chose pounded yam and egusi soup, as he believes it is traditional and a safe option.
“I’m going to say for reliability sake, pounded yam. Some people say jollof rice but I say pounded yam,” Iwobi said.
Bassey, on the other hand, chose jollof rice as he believes that it is the most popular African dish.
Calvin Bassey and Alex Iwobi brace up for World Cup Qualifiers with Nigeria
After this weekend’s Premier League game against Tottenham, Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey will travel to Nigeria for the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers against Rwanda and Zimbabwe.
Both players are expected to be integral to coach Eric Chelle’s setup, and they will need to bring their best game due to Nigeria’s precarious situation. In fact, Osimhen already gave an inkling about what to expect after speaking to Chelle.
“He’s going to be very demanding. He said that he needs me and the senior players on the team to work with him to achieve amazing things for Nigeria,” Osimhen told the ObiOne Podcast.
“But he said the one who does not run or fight for every ball will not play. He was clear with me. He said he can be a big brother or an uncle to everybody. But on the pitch, it is business; if the younger players see us running crazy, they will do it also.”
“He said, ‘I might scream at you guys, I might do a lot of stuff, but don’t take it to heart.”
Nigeria will play Rwanda at the Amahoro Stadium on March 21 before welcoming Zimbabwe to Uyo for the second game on March 25.
