Bright Osayi-Samuel opens up on what spurred him to excel at the AFCON 2025 tournament

Super Eagles and Birmingham City full-back Bright Osayi-Samuel has revealed the motivation behind his brilliant display at the AFCON 2025 competition, Afrik Foot reports.

The 28-year-old was the first choice right-back in Morocco, considering Ola Aina was out with a hamstring injury while Brentford youngster Benjamin Frederick couldn’t compete at the tournament due to knee issues.

The injuries to the two crucial Nigerian players paved the way for Osayi to thrive, while Blackburn Rovers’ Ryan Alebiosu got a maiden call-up just in time, before making his debut against Uganda.

Aina’s injury motivated Osayi-Samuel’s AFCON performance

Knowing he wasn’t the first choice from previous tournaments, the ex-Fenerbahce full-back played to prove a point, to seal a starting berth for himself, hence his brilliant display in Morocco.

“I’ve been playing for a long time, so I know that in football, things can change very quickly,” the Super Eagles right-back said in an interview with Oma Akatugba.

“I always wanted to play when called upon. We have another great back in Ola Aina. He’s someone that I’ve always looked up to; he’s a great player, but I always believed that if my opportunity came, I’d take it.

“Of course, you don’t want to wish a bad injury on anyone, but when Ola was out, I thought this was a good opportunity for me to play more games at the AFCON, and I couldn’t look back when the opportunity came.

“So I played and enjoyed myself, and thank God, I played well, so it was good.

“For Nigeria, you have to prove yourself, and I think this AFCON was a way to show that I can compete and I’m willing to fight for the nation,” the AFCON 2023 silver medallist concluded.

Like Calvin Bassey at Fulham, Osayi has seen his playing time reduce since he returned to Birmingham after the AFCON, playing just 111 minutes for the Blues.