Super Eagles striker Cyriel Dessers has revealed that he has no regrets he chose to play for the Super Eagles of Nigeria over the Red Devils of Belgium.
The 27-year-old Genk player stated that despite his bumpy history with the Nigerian national team, he is still very happy to be with the Super Eagles.
Dessers recently bagged his first goal for the Super Eagles, scoring the Eagles' only goal in Nigeria's 2-1 friendly loss to Mexico at the AT&T Stadium on Sunday, May 29.
Dessers cherishes first Super Eagles goal
According to Completesports, Dessers was reminiscing about his maiden goal for the Super Eagles, stating finally breaking his duck with the national team gave him 'goosebumps.'
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Dessers said: "I got goosebumps after I scored that goal. I hope to score more goals and do everything for the team."
The ex-Feyenoord striker carried over his rich scoring vein from the club season into the national team by scoring his first goal. Dessers scored a total of 21 goals and six (6) assists during the 2021/22 season, top-scoring in the UEFA Europa Conference League with 10 goals.
I chose Nigeria even when they overlooked me - Dessers
While commenting on his topsy-turvy relationship with the Super Eagles, Dessers noted that despite being overlooked under the previous manager Gernot Rohr, he remains committed to fighting for a place on the national side.
“I have no regrets. I chose to play for Nigeria even though I was overlooked after my debut two years ago. I will keep fighting and continue to score goals to be called up," Dessers explained.
Born to a Dutch father and a Nigerian mother, Dessers chose to play for the Super Eagles and earned his debut in October 2020, playing 18 minutes of an international friendly with Tunisia.
Since then, the 27-year-old was not invited to national team duty till the recent doubleheader friendlies with Mexico and Ecuador under new coach Jose Peseiro.
Dessers was also included in the 27-man squad to face Sierra Leone and Sao Tome and Principe in the first of Nigeria's qualifiers for AFCON 2023.
Dessers urges Super Eagles ahead of Sierra Leone qualifier
Ahead of those qualifiers, Dessers called on the Super Eagles to ensure they get the job done despite playing Sierra Leone behind closed doors.
Dessers said: "We have to perform, do the business even behind closed doors. It would have been great with the fans at the stadium, but that will not be possible for this game.”
The Super Eagles face Sierra Leone on Thursday, June 9 at the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja before facing Sao Tome and Principe in a neutral Morocco on Monday, June 13.