Nigerian international, Joe Aribo, has declared his readiness for next month’s friendly against Brazil in Singapore.
The last few months have seen Aribo showcase his skills at Wembley as he helped Charlton win promotion to the Championship, clinch a potentially defining move to Rangers and then make a dream international debut for Nigeria.
Now the midfielder is preparing for another hugely significant moment in his fledgling career after being called upon by Super Eagles boss Gernot Rohr for a second time.
“It was very good news to be called up to the Nigeria squad again and I’m happy I was able to do enough in the last game to earn a recall,” Aribo, who scored on his debut in the friendly with Ukraine, said.
“Games don’t come much bigger than Brazil and we know they’ve got a lot of stars like Neymar, of course. That’s the type of opponents I want to be playing against and it would be good to swap a jersey with one of those superstars.
“I’ll see so many stars and I’ll take a moment to realise that’s what I’ve been dreaming of. Everyone in my generation loved players like Ronaldinho and he played with some of the players in this team now so it’s like ‘wow’.
“The manager congratulated me on my debut goal against Ukraine. I wouldn’t say it was much of a step up from Rangers but it was good to play against opponents like that because Ukraine have a lot of good players.
“It was just good to be out there. I knew a few of the lads like Ola Aina and Alex Iwobi and they all welcomed me and made me feel at home so it wasn’t too hard to settle in.”
The performance that Aribo turned in on his first appearance for Nigeria earned him rave reviews in his adopted homeland and he was even compared to one of his idols.
The London-born playmaker is proud to have made his way into the international arena after realising his ambition on the world stage.
Aribo said: “I could have played for England but my parents are from Nigeria and I always watched players like Jay-Jay Okocha and Nwankwo Kanu as a kid so it was a no-brainer to play for them.
“I read the headline where a journalist compared me to Okocha after the Ukraine game – that’s putting a lot of pressure on me!
“I didn’t think international recognition would come so soon but it just shows the stature of Rangers and why it was a good decision to come here.
“I had to take three flights to get to Ukraine and the schedule this season has been quite hard but I’m trying to take it in my stride and I’m enjoying every minute of it.”
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