Madueke, Olise, Udogie, 5 other Nigeria-eligible players included in U21 EURO squads 

Eight players eligible for the Nigeria national teams are in contention to feature for European nations in the 2023 European U21 Championship scheduled to be played in Cluj-Napoca, Bucharest, Batumi, Kutaisi and Tbilisi from June 21 to July 8.

England U21s head coach Lee Carsley  has included Chelsea midfielder Noni Madueke on his roster. 

The Young Lions will take on Czech Republic, Israel and Germany in the group stage, with the top two teams progressing to the quarterfinals of the competition. 

Madueke could be facing two players of Nigerian descent in the group stage as talented Freiburg goalkeeper Noah Atubolu and Brentford winger Kevin Schade have been named in Germany's final squad for the U21 EURO. 

Italy U21 boss Paolo Nicolato has selected the 23 players who will take part in the tournament and the list includes two players who are on the radar of the Nigeria Football Federation in the shape of Atalanta's Caleb Okoli and Tottenham Hotspur-owned fullback Destiny Udogie. 

Placed in Group D, Italy will travel to Cluj, Romania, on Monday 19 June, where they will face France, Switzerland and Norway in the three group matches.

2021 Super Eagles invitee Michael Olise is set to represent France in his first major tournament, having been included in the U21 squad for the European Championship.

The Crystal Palace winger has played four matches for the age group, including against Faroe Islands on March 24, 2022 when he became provisionally cap-tied to France. 

Norway U21 coach  Leif Gunnar Smerud has picked talented Club Brugge striker Antonio Nusa in his squad list, while onetime Nigerian Federation target Joshua Zirkzee is in the Netherlands squad. 

Zirkzee, currently on the books of Bologna in Italy, has scored seven goals in twelve competitive appearances for the Netherlands U21s. 

At the European Championship, the Dutch with face Belgium, Portugal and Georgia in Group A. 

Nigeria-eligible players selected in U21 EURO squads

1) Noni Madueke (Chelsea) - England

2) Noah Atubolu (Freiburg) - Germany

3) Kevin Schade (Brentford) - Germany

4) Antonio Nusa (Club Brugge) - Norway

5) Joshua Zirkzee (Bologna) - Netherlands

6) Destiny Udogie (Tottenham Hotspur) - Italy

7) Caleb Okoli (Atalanta) - Italy

8) Michael Olise (Crystal Palace) - France

*Parma's defensive midfielder Simon Sohm has been included in Switzerland's provisional squad 

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

Photo Credit: chelseafc.com

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