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Super Eagles playmaker Alex Iwobi. Photo by Thor Wegner DeFodi Images \/ IMAGO<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Former Super Eagles and Brentford defender Sam Sodje has\u00a0shared his thoughts on Alex Iwobi\u2019s performances for Nigeria,\u00a0Soccernet.ng<\/u><\/a>\u00a0reports.<\/strong><\/p>\n Iwobi has\u00a0been one of the most\u00a0underrated players in the Super Eagles setup since making his debut in 2015, when he came on in the second half to replace Ahmed Musa during a\u00a02-0 defeat to the Democratic Republic of Congo.\u00a0<\/p>\n Since then, the midfielder\u00a0has gone on to earn 99 caps for Nigeria,\u00a0putting\u00a0him third on the\u00a0country\u2019s\u00a0all-time appearance list. He is now\u00a0only a few\u00a0appearances away from equalling Musa\u2019s record of 111 caps.<\/p>\n The 30-year-old\u00a0has also built an impressive career\u00a0at club level and has\u00a0made 318\u00a0appearances in the English Premier League, which marks the highest by any Nigerian and the third-highest by any African player in the competition\u2019s history.<\/p>\n In a recent interview with\u00a0Footy-Africa<\/u><\/a>, former Super Eagles defender Sam Sodje shared a honest assessment on Iwobi\u2019s performances for both club and country.<\/p>\n The former Brentford centre-back believes the midfielder, who marked his 30th birthday\u00a0on Sunday,\u00a0deserves more recognition for his consistency and his\u00a0commitment to\u00a0the Super Eagles.<\/p>\n \u201cI think he has done really well because when he first came to the national team, his ability was questioned because of his uncle (Jay-Jay Okocha). But I think he has improved so much because of the career he has had in England\u201d, Sam Sodje revealed.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cI know how tough it is\u2014we have to give him a lot of respect. So him turning 30, you know, he grew up in our face and it\u2019s scary to say he\u00a0will be 30, but he\u2019s come to be a very experienced and important player for the national team.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cI would talk from an ex-player\u2019s point of view, because a typical fan would probably not rank him with the best of the best. But from an ex-player who knows the game, who knows the technicality of football, I would rate him up there with the best. Because to play the way he is playing\u2014like I said before, he is a player that plays to instructions\u2014so that\u2019s why in my list, he would be up there with the best\u201d, the former Leeds United star added.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n Iwobi has also made history at Premier League level, becoming the first Nigerian player to register 35 goals and 38 assists in the competition. He has also crossed the 300-appearance mark\u00a0earlier in the campaign, which has further\u00a0cemented\u00a0his status as one of Nigeria\u2019s most experienced players in England\u2019s top flight.<\/p>\n Sodje, who also played in the Premier League\u00a0during his playing days, believes Iwobi\u00a0deserves to earn more praise, given how demanding the league is and how difficult it is to maintain such levels over many seasons.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd that\u2019s a hard thing to do, trust me. That league is a tough league.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cBut he has always been a player that plays to a structure, and I think that\u2019s why he has got so many managers that really like him. I think his ability enough is not what is getting him where he is. I think his discipline of how to play to a system has made him the player he has become.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n Since making his Super Eagles debut, Iwobi has featured at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and has won two Africa Cup of Nations bronze medals as well as one silver medal. However, he is yet to win a major international trophy with Nigeria, while the\u00a0Super Eagles have also failed to qualify for the last two World Cups,\u00a0including the upcoming tournament<\/u>\u00a0in the summer.<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n Sodje believes the responsibility for those shortcomings lies more with the\u00a0Nigerian Football Federation (NFF)\u00a0and believes that this generation\u00a0of players has been let down despite\u00a0the\u00a0quality.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019ve thrown it away by not qualifying for two World Cups and struggling for the last couple of Nations Cups. Because if you ask me\u2014I know we all praise the\u00a0\u201994 set, the\u00a0\u201996 set\u2014but believe me, with this new generation, I think we had the best generation ever and I think we blew it\u201d, Sodje continued.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cHopefully, they are still around for a couple of years\u2019\u00a0time, but football is a funny game; you just never know how long you can play for. But we definitely blew it, and I don\u2019t blame the players, I blame the organization. Missing the World Cup for two years in a row really killed the chance for these players to go out there and explore their talents and get that kind of recognition the former players had. So yeah, it\u2019s so sad. Hopefully, they can win something because I think this is a golden generation\u201d, he concluded.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n Iwobi will now look to add to his appearances\u00a0for the Super Eagles in\u00a0the coming\u00a0months, which would give him a great chance of breaking the all-time record and cementing his status in the national team.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"Soccer](\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/thumbor\/KZeDRMP8bkwyk9J4zF9fXGbD5LU=\/2700x1516\/smart\/https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.soccernet.ng%2Fmain%2F2026%2F02%2Fimago1073056290.jpg\")
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Soccer Why Iwobi has remained consistent for Nigeria<\/h2>\n
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Ayomide Oguntimehin” src=”https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/thumbor\/ycGEJDr9VZlpO_5zujn3ZdvICxA=\/150×150\/smart\/https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.soccernet.ng%2Fmain%2F2024%2F12%2FAyomide-Oguntimehin-pics.jpg” height=”80″ width=”80″>\t\t<\/p>\n