Echoes of excitement are rolling through the Super Eagles’ camp in London, England following their 2-0 victory over Zimbabwe on Tuesday at the 2026 Unity Cup, with major talking points rolling for Femi Azeez and Arthur Okonkwo.
Sports247 reports that both youngsters feature for clubs in the Championship, England’s second-tier league, where Azeez, the scorer of Nigeria’s two goals on Tuesday, plays for Millwall, while Okonkwo features for Wales-based Wrexham.
Both clubs had remarkable league games at the venue of Tuesday’s game, which happens to be the home ground of Charlton Athletic, who produced 2024 African Footballer of The Year, Ademola Lookman.
While Lookman and other top stars of the Eagles were not invited to feature at this year’s Unity Cup, rookie stars like Azeez and Okonkwo’s not only got chances for their national team debuts, they also used the opportunity to pick solid personal landmarks in green-and-white.
Azeez not only joined the rank of Nigerian players who scored on their debut for the Eagles, he became the first to make it with a brace, the first of which came as early as the fifth minute of play at The Valley.
A report by the communications department of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) noted in part, “Coach Eric Chelle sent out a barely-recognizable squad in the first game in his defence of the trophy he won with the three-time African champions a year ago.
“Azeez, who plays for Millwall FC in the English Championship, swiftly put Nigeria in the lead after only five minutes, when he finished off a great team move with a left-footed rocket that goalkeeper Future Sibanda could not stop.
“Azeez and USA-based midfielder Alhassan Yusuf came pretty close, Turkey-based centre-back Chibuike Nwaiwu combined with Czech Republic-based Igoh Ogbu and home-boys Oputa and Igboke to make the Nigeria defence impregnable.
“In the second half, Azeez netted his and Nigeria’s second of the night after beating Sibanda in the box following another swift team move, with Otele finding Terem Moffi who then located the Millwall man in the vital area.
“In the 71st minute, Okonkwo had to stretch full length to deny the Warriors. As Nigeria firmly kept control, Chelle gave opportunities to Tosin Oyedokun, Owen Oseni, Rafiu Durosinmi and Aderemi Adeoye to also earn their first caps.”
However, the biggest revelation of the night had to be Azeez, who was born in Westminster, England to a Nigerian father and Spanish mother, then grew up in Northwood with his younger brother, Miguel, who is also a professional footballer.
Born on June 5th, 2001, the attacker, whose full name is Oluwafemi Javier Azeez Beloso, appeared to have a career setback when he was released from the academy of Watford at 14, but he soon began his senior career with non-league side, Northwood.
After making 12 appearances during his debut season, he signed for fellow non-league club, Wealdstone in 2018, following which he moved on loan to Hanwell Town in 2018, then joined Reading in 2019 and was later loaned to Bracknell Town.
The 24-year-old attacker, who got his debut for Reading in 2021 and twinkled in the 2023/24 season, before signing for Millwall in 2024, will now aim to keep his Super Eagles’ surge going with another strong show in the Unity Cup final of Saturday.
