Glasgow Rangers of Scotland midfielder, Joe Aribo has admitted he was thrilled to get his debut for Nigeria in Tuesday’s friendly against Ukraine, and declared that it was twice satisfying that he even scored during the match at Dnipro-Arena, megasportsarena.com reports.
The former Charlton Athletic youngster, whose father hails from Ondo State, added that playing in Nigeria’s colours for the first time was a huge moment of pride for him and his family, then went on to give thanks to God for making it possible.
Although he confessed that he felt deflated that the Eagles gave away a first half two-goal lead to eventually draw the game 2-2, Aribo added that it was a fairy tale start for him, as he netted the opening goal after only three minutes, when he made one of his trademark runs into the box and slotted past the Ukrainian goalkeeper after a delightful cutback from Everton ace, Alex Iwobi.
The dreadlocks-wearing dazzler, whose full name is Joseph Oluwaseyi Temitope Ayodele-Aribo (born July 21, 1996), cut his football teeth when he played for Staines Town under Marcus Gayle in the Isthmian League and won the club’s academy player of the year award in April 2014.
He joined Charlton in September 2015 following a successful trial, and signed a one-year contract in May 2016, then went on to get his first team debut as a 62nd-minute substitute for Andrew Crofts in a 2–0 loss to Crawley Town in an EFL Trophy match at The Valley on October 16, 2016.
The fast-rising lad was offered a new contract by Charlton at the end of last season, but instead opted to leave The Addicks and sign a four-year deal with Rangers, with which he made his competitive debut on July 9, 2019 in a 4–0 win over St Joseph’s of Gibraltar in the UEFA Europa League, where he has already enacted an awesome goals scoring feat with The Gers.
He has taken that form into the Nigerian national team, with which he signal a very early sign of great days ahead of him in green-and-white, with a hint that his deeply pious and devout nature could help him make waves with the Eagles in many years to come.
Aribo took to social media to celebrate his feat, and posted: ”Buzzing to make my debut for @NGSuperEagles unfortunate with the result but happy to score on my debut, a special day for me & my family and one I’ll remember. Thank you God.”
