Cole Receives Nigeria Call Up

As the tall West Ham striker approaches his mid 20s, he has grown accustomed to the idea of playing international football for a country other than his adopted one. In the past, the Chelsea trainee was holding out for his holy grail - representing England. As that looks less likely now, he has accepted the Nigerian call, despite representing the Three Lions at U21 level.

Carlton Cole's call comes at a time when the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) believe they need to experiment with their line-ups ahead of final stages of the World Cup qualifying campaign. If they are successful, then they hope to recreate their mid-90s heydey. A time that saw them rank as highly as 5th in the world by Fifa, reach the second round of the World Cup, win the Africa Cup of Nations, and emerge victorious in the Afro-Asian Cup of Nations.

NFF spokesman, Ademola Olajire, said to www.kickoffnigerian.com: "The [squad] list underscores Nigeria's desire to try new options against the backdrop of the Super Eagles having already picked a ticket for the third and final phase of qualifying which begins in March 2009."

The 20-man Nigeria squad includes: Ayenugba (Bnei Yehuda), Etafia (Moroka Swallows); Yobo (Everton), Shittu (Watford), Odiah, Mohammed (Al Hilal), Ola (Cesena), Nwaneri, Taiwo (Marseille); Olofinjana (Stoke City), Uche (Almeria), Mikel (Chelsea), Haruna (Monaco), Ayila (Dynamo Kiev); Okoduwa (Dynamo Kiev), Utaka (Portsmouth), Cole (West Ham), Martins (Newcastle), Yakubu (Everton), and Kanu (Portsmouth).

The West African side face South Africa at Port Elizabeth on the 6th of September. On the 11th of October, Nigeria host Sierra Leone at Abuja.

Alan Dawson