'I Didn't Play Regularly In The Club' - Hoffenheim's Akpoguma On Why He Rejected Nigeria 3 Years Ago

Hoffenheim central defender Kevin Akpoguma has claimed that he turned down the chance to represent Nigeria at the 2018 World Cup because he wasn't playing regularly for his Bundesliga club and was battling to overcome serious injuries.

Having said that, the fact is that the former Germany U20 captain enjoyed a breakout 2017-2018 and that was the reason manager Gernot Rohr approached him in the first place, with 17 starts to his name in the German top-flight while making five appearances off the bench.

Akpoguma revealed in 2018 that he would consider representing Nigeria only if he had no other option to play for Germany.

ESPN's Colin Udoh put Akpoguma on the spot by asking him if he would have considered Nigeria if he had been picked by Germany.

Akpoguma stated : "We are talking about three years ago, this is a different situation, you know three years ago I wasn't even ready for Nigeria national team because like I said serious injuries, I didn't play that regularly in the club so there's no way to go to the national team

"You have to be very good at your club before you can go to the national team and perform there also, this is the reason I decided not to come to the national team because I'm (not) ready in the club physically and mentally.

"We don't really need to talk about these questions if Germany would call me or not because I'm now an Eagle and I'm very proud to be here."

The 25-year-old Akpoguma is in contention to make his full debut for the Super Eagles in this evening's friendly against Tunisia.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

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