{"id":905224,"date":"2026-05-12T07:20:22","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T12:20:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/12\/those-two-osimhen-names-super-eagles-teammate-world-cup-winner-as-toughest-defenders-he-has-faced\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T07:20:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T12:20:22","slug":"those-two-osimhen-names-super-eagles-teammate-world-cup-winner-as-toughest-defenders-he-has-faced","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/12\/those-two-osimhen-names-super-eagles-teammate-world-cup-winner-as-toughest-defenders-he-has-faced\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThose two\u201d \u2013\u00a0Osimhen names Super Eagles teammate, World Cup winner as toughest defenders he has faced"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Soccer <\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p><img width=\"750\" height=\"561\" alt=\"Soccer \u201cThose two\u201d \u2013\u00a0Osimhen names Super Eagles teammate, World Cup winner as toughest defenders he has faced\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" src=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/thumbor\/6vy5LgoznXP6zrAYerdUzjOChhk=\/750x561\/smart\/https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.soccernet.ng%2Fmain%2F2026%2F03%2Fimago1074516284.jpg\" srcset data-sizes=\"auto\" data-expand=\"700\"><\/p>\n<p> Victor Osimhen of Galatasaray Copyright: ImagoxDavidxBlunsden<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><strong>Super Eagles forward\u00a0Victor Osimhen has revealed the toughest defenders he has faced in\u00a0the course of his career,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/\"><u>Soccernet.ng<\/u><\/a>\u00a0reports.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The 27-year-old striker has enjoyed a successful career across several top European leagues, playing in Belgium, Germany, France, Italy\u00a0and now Turkey\u00a0and he\u00a0has faced a number of elite defenders\u00a0along the way.<\/p>\n<p>Osimhen played a key role in helping Napoli end their 33-year wait for the Serie A title during the 2022-23 season. He finished as the league\u2019s top scorer with 26 goals, won the Best Striker award, and was named in the Serie A Team of the Season.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"893\" height=\"595\" src=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/thumbor\/ipppviMrUuIf6CQTxtpMFCLtTA4=\/893x595\/smart\/https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.soccernet.ng%2Fmain%2F2026%2F02%2FIMG-20260228-WA0001.jpg\" alt=\"Soccer Victor Osimhen vs Liverpool\"><figcaption>Galatasaray forward Victor Osimhen vs Liverpool. Copyright: IMAGO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The Nigerian forward initially joined Galatasaray on loan in 2024 before completing a permanent move in a Turkish record\u00a0\u20ac75 million deal last summer. Since arriving in Turkey, he has continued his prolific form, scoring\u00a059\u00a0goals\u00a0across all competitions,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/2026\/05\/victor-osimhen-turkish-galatasaray-super-lig.html\"><u>including a brace last weekend that helped Galatasaray secure a fourth consecutive Super Lig title.<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Soccer Osimhen names\u00a0Calvin Bassey and\u00a0Cristian\u00a0Romero as most difficult defenders<\/h2>\n<p>Nigerian forward Victor\u00a0Osimhen has built a reputation as one of Europe\u2019s\u00a0most prolific\u00a0forwards, but\u00a0despite that, some defenders have made life difficult for him on the pitch.<\/p>\n<p>One of those players is Super Eagles teammate Calvin Bassey, who has been a regular for Nigeria since 2022 and won both bronze and silver medals at the Africa Cup of Nations alongside Osimhen.<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"681\" src=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/thumbor\/HICXI-AGLsJcNDh_tHSRb9LLFRc=\/1024x681\/smart\/https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.soccernet.ng%2Fmain%2F2026%2F01%2Fimago1071257989.jpg\" alt=\"Soccer Calvin Bassey, Nigeria and Ismael Saibari, Ayoub El Kaabi, Morocco\"  ><figcaption>Super Eagles star Calvin Bassey. Photo by Segun Ogunfeyitimi Copyright: xshengolpixsxIMAGO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Speaking during an interview with\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DYKL0GWCMBz\/?igsh=MW5hdGx4bXJ6ZXVxMw==\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>River Rhodes<\/u><\/a>, Osimhen praised the Fulham defender\u2019s strength and quality.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ll say Calvin Bassey. First of all, in training. That guy is very strong, really very strong. I think currently now he\u2019s actually the best defender in Africa and of course one of the best defenders in the Premier League\u201d,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DYKL0GWCMBz\/?igsh=MW5hdGx4bXJ6ZXVxMw==\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>Osimhen said, as shared on Instagram<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The Galatasaray striker also\u00a0identified\u00a0Tottenham Hotspur defender Cristian Romero as another player who proved difficult to play against.<\/p>\n<p>Osimhen faced Romero three times during the 2020-21 Serie A season when he played for Napoli and the Argentine represented Atalanta.<\/p>\n<p>Although the Nigerian striker scored in Napoli\u2019s 4-1 victory over Atalanta in October 2020, he struggled to find the net in later meetings and was even forced off\u00a0after a collision with Romero during Napoli\u2019s 4-2 defeat\u00a0in February 2021.<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3776\" height=\"2517\" src=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/thumbor\/qLMr2Q1eaVeNbbih_JX1SNwhbvA=\/3776x2517\/smart\/https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.soccernet.ng%2Fmain%2F2026%2F05%2F47A8A5AC-F675-4088-916B-9C7EC70AC2A9.jpeg\" alt=\"Soccer Cristian Romero of Tottenham Hotspur \"><figcaption>Cristian Romero of Tottenham Hotspur tussles with Lyle Foster of Burnley for the ball. Copyright: Imago<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cAlso, Romero of Spurs\u00a0\u2013\u00a0he\u2019s actually a very intelligent defender. He gave me a hard time when we met. I think I\u2019ve faced a couple of world class defenders, but I think the hardest is those two that I mentioned when I talk about the very best I\u2019ve played with.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2>Soccer Victor\u00a0Osimhen\u00a0makes\u00a0history at Galatasaray<\/h2>\n<p>Super Eagles forward Victor\u00a0Osimhen has become a fan favourite\u00a0since his arrival at\u00a0Galatasaray, given his\u00a0impressive performances and strong connection with the supporters.<\/p>\n<p>He scored a brace\u00a0in last weekend\u2019s\u00a0win over Antalyaspor which\u00a0took his tally to 22 goals for the season and helped Galatasaray secure another Super Lig crown.<\/p>\n<p>The title also saw Osimhen equal former Super Eagles captain Joseph Yobo as the Nigerian player with the most Turkish league titles.<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"5000\" height=\"3333\" src=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/thumbor\/AhVAcEoXVo34gvLDM-XrpldYn4w=\/5000x3333\/smart\/https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.soccernet.ng%2Fmain%2F2026%2F03%2Fimago1074031906.jpg\" alt=\"Soccer Super Eagles and Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen\"><figcaption>Victor Osimhen of Galatasaray and his daughter celebrates the end of the match with the fans. Copyright: xBurakxBasturkxImago<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The\u00a0former Napoli forward\u00a0has attracted interest from several top European clubs ahead of the summer transfer window. Although he will miss Galatasaray\u2019s final game of the season through suspension due to yellow card accumulation, the Turkish champions are determined to keep him at the club.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the growing transfer speculation, a final decision on Osimhen\u2019s future is expected in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p><img alt=\"<!-- Author Start -->Ayomide Oguntimehin<!-- Author End -->&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/thumbor\/ycGEJDr9VZlpO_5zujn3ZdvICxA=\/150&#215;150\/smart\/https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.soccernet.ng%2Fmain%2F2024%2F12%2FAyomide-Oguntimehin-pics.jpg&#8221;  height=&#8221;80&#8243; width=&#8221;80&#8243;>\t\t<\/p>\n<div>\n<h3>\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/author\/ayomide-oguntimehin\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\tAyomide Oguntimehin\t\t\t\t<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\tAyomide Oguntimehin is a CAF-accredited sports journalist and Chief Editor at Soccernet.ng. He has interviewed Super Eagles stars like William Troost-Ekong, Taiwo Awoniyi, Bright Osayi-Samuel, and Ademola Lookman, and is known for breaking major transfer stories.<\/p>\n<p>Ayomide has worked with Sports Brief, Naija News and served as Social Lead Editor at Legit.ng. He has also featured on Goal, TVC News, Sports Mole, and Milan News24. He holds a Master\u2019s degree and is currently pursuing a PhD. Follow Ayomide on X (formerly Twitter): @ayo_oguntimehin\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/2026\/05\/osimhen-super-eagles-world-cup.html\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a>Ayomide Oguntimehin<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Soccer Victor Osimhen of Galatasaray Copyright: ImagoxDavidxBlunsden Super Eagles forward\u00a0Victor Osimhen has revealed the toughest defenders he has faced in\u00a0the course of his career,\u00a0Soccernet.ng\u00a0reports. The 27-year-old striker has enjoyed a successful career across several top European leagues, playing in Belgium, Germany, France, Italy\u00a0and now Turkey\u00a0and he\u00a0has faced a number of elite defenders\u00a0along the way. Osimhen [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":905225,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[92054,2005,23675],"tags":[10793,10232],"class_list":{"0":"post-905224","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-two","8":"category-soccer","9":"category-those","10":"tag-those","11":"tag-two"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/905224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=905224"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/905224\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/905225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=905224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=905224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=905224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}