Esperance may have begun their Club World Cup campaign with defeat, but midfielder Onuche Ogbelu won plaudits for his sterling performance in the middle of the park.
Brazilian giants Flamengo were rarely troubled in their 2-0 win on Monday night, but what discomfort they did face came thanks to the 22-year-old, whose composure in possession belied his youth, and now has many calling for him to be drafted into the Super Eagles.
So, where did this gem come from, and what do we know about Ogbelu?
5 facts about Onuche Ogbelu
- Ogbelu is a product of the first-ever edition of the Principals’ Cup, a state-sponsored competition among secondary schools, in 2021 with Fosla Academy, Karshi, a town on the outskirts of the Federal Capital Territory. Fosla Academy is owned by former NFF President Sani Lulu.
- He played for Nasarawa United in the Nigeria Professional Football League before his move to Tunisian giants Esperance. However, it was not his league performances that caught the eye of Taraji. Instead, it was the fact that he was a…
- Starter for Nigeria at the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations in 2023, where Nigeria lost in the semi-finals to Gambia but finished third in the competition by beating Tunisia 4-0. That finish earned the team a place at the U-20 World Cup in Argentina later that year. Ogbelu was one of the competition’s standout players, alongside the likes of Benjamin Fredrick and Solomon Agbalaka. However, in spite of this, he…
- Lost his place in the team for the World Cup. Remarkably, it was not just that he was left out of the starting XI, but that, when the squad was named, Ogbelu was conspicuously absent. For the tournament proper, coach Ladan Bosso’s preference was for a midfield of Daniel Daga, Tochukwu Nnadi and Victor Eletu.
- He was one of three Flying Eagles players handpicked by erstwhile coach Jose Peseiro to train with the Super Eagles. The Portuguese coach was on assignment in Egypt during the U-20 AFCON to run the rule over that crop, and was impressed enough that he selected Ogbelu, along with three others, to train with the senior national team ahead of an AFCON qualifier against Guinea-Bissau in March, 2023.
