Meet Nigeria-eligible midfielder Osawe who reaches FIFA U-17 World Cup final with Germany

Winners Osawe is a regular starter for Deutschland Fussball Bund U-17 side and helped his side to penalty shoot-out against Argentina today.

Nigeria-eligible German midfielder, Winners Mark Osawe, has helped the German U-17 side reach the final of the ongoing U-17 FIFA World Cup, Soccernet.ng reports.

The young RB Leipzig midfielder has started two games in the tournament so far for Christian Wück’s side, stepping in firmly for injured Schalke 04 prospect, Forzan Assan Ouedraogo.

With the final of the tournament scheduled for the second day in the month of December, Osawe turns 17 tomorrow, and whilst still playing in Die Rotten Bullen youth setup, he has a bright future ahead of him.

The ball-winning German midfielder has Nigerian roots, and if he continues his development at a steady rate, the questions will come in, as to where his allegiance lies.

Germany began their campaign at the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup with an impressive 3-1 win over two-time champions Mexico, with Osawe involved.

Since then, they’ve swept Australia, Colombia, the United States of America, Spain and now, Argentina aside, with Borussia Dortmund’s Paris Brunner’s brace proving pivotal.

Osawe is not the only Nigerian-eligible player in the squad, though, as VFL Wolfsburg’s David Odogu, who has Nigerian roots, has also been rock solid in the centre of the defence for the Germans.

Several players, like Jordan Torunharigha and Felix Uduokhai played in the German youth setup before deciding to play for Nigeria.

Bayer Munich’s Jamal Musiala also has Nigerian roots, and was approached by Nigeria, but the golden boy nominee preferred to play for Germany.