5 things to know about Super Eagles invitee – Tolu Arokodare
Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle has named a 23-man squad ahead of Nigeria’s World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda and Zimbabwe.
The Franco-Malian tactician trimmed his initial 39-man list, unveiling the final selection on Tuesday.
Tolu Arokodare is not the only first-timer on the list. The others are Czech Republic-based defender Igoh Ogbu and home-based midfielder Papa Daniel Mustapha of Niger Tornadoes.
Below are five things to know about Arokodare:
1. Tolu Arokodare was born on November 23, 2000, in the Festac Town area of Lagos.
2. During his youth in Nigeria, he played for Kash Academy and Flying Sports Academy in Festac, as well as the Segun Odegbami International College and Sports Academy. He later joined the Box2Box FC academy in Surulere, Lagos and had trials with European clubs SC Freiburg and Toulouse.
3. Arokodare is 1.97 meters (6 ft 6 inches) tall, making him a dominant force in aerial duels.
4. The 24-year-old completed a stunning switch from Amiens FC to KRC Genk in Belgium on the brink of the 2022-23 January transfer deadline, following the departure of their star player, Paul Onuachu, to Southampton.
5. In his senior career, he has starred for Valmiera (Latvia), FC Koln (Germany), Amiens (France) and Genk (Belgium). He is the current top scorer in the Belgian Jupiler Pro League with 16 goals, making him one of Nigeria’s most in-form strikers.
