Super Eagles: Why Cyriel Dessers may never play for Nigeria again

Cyriel Dessers has spent the past six years drifting in and out of the Super Eagles squad without establishing himself as a key player, and the current depth of Eric Chelle’s striker pool now suggests the Panathinaikos forward may never wear the green shirt again, Afrik-Foot reports.

The 31-year-old was omitted from Chelle’s September 2026 AFCON qualifier squad against Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau despite scoring four goals this season.

Dessers has made just 11 Super Eagles appearances since his October 2020 debut against Tunisia in a friendly draw in Vienna, and has scored three goals across that six-year international career.

However, he has never featured in a single tournament match for Nigeria across those six years, although he’s played in World Cup qualifiers, only becoming cap-tied last September against Rwanda.

His emotional response to that reality captured the frustration: “It hurts sometimes. It feels disappointing,” he told Nigerian media.

Super Eagles: Why Cyriel Dessers may not play for Nigeria again

The most important reason Dessers may never play for Nigeria again is that the Super Eagles’ attacking depth is stacked.

Victor Osimhen and Akor Adams are the sealed starters. The Galatasaray striker had produced six goals and two assists in the opening four Süper Lig fixtures of the 2026/27 season before his groin injury, and remains the untouchable centre-forward of Chelle’s 4-3-1-2 diamond system.

Akor Adams’ 2025 breakthrough at Sevilla has cemented the second-striker slot alongside Osimhen for the foreseeable future, meaning both starting positions in Chelle’s preferred shape are formally closed to any external competition.

Behind them, the queue of alternative options waiting to replace either starter is extraordinary.

Paul Onuachu is a trusted name at Trabzonspor; Tolu Arokodare has been in blistering form since joining Ajax on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Kelechi Iheanacho has scored 11 goals in eight Bursaspor appearances in the Turkish second tier, extending his consecutive-scoring run across every league match this season. Taiwo Awoniyi replaced Osimhen in Chelle’s September squad and now carries that momentum into the November window.

Gift Orban has scored seven goals in six Süper Lig matches at Amedspor, and would re-enter the Nigerian conversation the moment his eligibility question is resolved.

George Ilenikhena received his first Super Eagles invitation on the back of his €33 million Al-Ittihad move and eight goal contributions in nine appearances, and that list does not even include Rafiu Durosinmi, who has scored five goals in seven games for Genk.

The pecking order Chelle is now managing puts Dessers behind eight in-form Nigerian strikers across European club football.

Age and time are no longer on his side

The second dimension complicating Dessers’ Nigeria case is age. The Panathinaikos forward turns 32 in December 2026 and will be nearly 33 by the time AFCON 2027 takes place in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

Chelle’s selection philosophy across his Super Eagles tenure has favoured emerging talents and in-form current options over veteran alternatives, and the age gap between Dessers and the other strikers works against him.

Osimhen is 27, Adams is 26, Arokodare is 25, Awoniyi is 29. Paul Onuachu is 3,2 but his numbers at Trabzonspor trump Dessers’ Panathinaikos chapter.

Ilenikhena is 20, Orban is 24, Durosinmi is 23. The attacking generation Chelle is quietly building around is younger than Dessers, and the project the head coach is now planning toward will further increase that age gap.

The eight-month injury layoff Dessers endured across the 2025/26 season, culminating in surgery in April to resolve a persistent thigh issue, also raises durability questions that the body of a striker in his 30’s may not easily answer.

His goal return at Panathinaikos has been impressive, but his injury history now weighs against any Super Eagles head coach considering a longer-term commitment.