Former Everton and reading of England midfielder, Hope Akpan has cast his mind back to his very first day with the Super Eagles, and recalled that it was a very exciting moment for him, as it came few months after he committed his international future to Nigeria, megasportsarena.com reports.
Although he eventually did not enjoy a long career with Nigeria, which he chose ahead of England, where he was born, Akpan is relishing memories of the bliss he enjoyed from the word go, during a 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier played in Uyo, which he noted is his ancestry.
He became cap-tied after starting the game against Sudan and played three more games for the Eagles, before dropping into the international wilderness for more than five years, with his last appearance for Nigeria coming against Uganda in March 2015, but he is not holding ill feelings.
Rather than sulk over how he has since been left out of the Eagles’ mainframe, the 28-year-old chooses to bask in the euphoria of how exciting it was for him while it lasted, and then picked his debut against Sudan as the standout moment of his career at the international level.
Akpan told Team Nigeria UK: “My best moment in football was obviously my debut for Nigeria, it was a home game, it was in the state where my father is from, in Uyo. It was massive being called Akpan and playing in Uyo.
“I got a lot of love from family members and people around the local government. It was really, really an inspiring moment. It was one of the proudest moments of my career. It’s not often that you get to play for your country – the country of your parents, the country of your heritage.
“It was massive for me and I really, really, really enjoyed playing for the national team; although it wasn’t as many games as I wanted to play. Just the experience alone, I’ll be able to hold that as the amazing part of my career. I am really thankful that I got the opportunity to go to Nigeria and play in some beautiful games.”
