Tottenham's Nigeria-eligible defender Udogie earns first Italy call-up for Euro qualifiers

The Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio are in pole position to secure the services of Tottenham Hotspur's rising star Destiny Udogie at senior level ahead of their Nigerian counterparts. 

The talented left-back is in the mix to make his senior debut for his country of birth, Italy this month after receiving his first call-up to Italy's senior national team ahead of 2024 European Championship qualifiers against Malta and England on October 14 and October 17 respectively. 

Udogie became provisionally cap-tied to Italy in March 2019 when he featured in an U17 Euro qualifier against Romania. 

Born in Verona to parents who originally hail from Nigeria, he has caps for Italy at U16, U17, U18, U19, U20 and U21 levels. 

Luciano Spalletti, who has been tracking Udogie since he replaced Roberto Mancini as Italy coach, has rewarded Udogie for his excellent start to the 2023-2024 Premier League season.

The Tottenham Hotspur number 38 earned plaudits for his brilliant displays against Manchester United's Antony and Liverpool's Mohamed Salah, and also performed admirably in the second half of the north London derby, where he was involved in a 1v1 duel with Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka.

Should Udogie make his competitive debut for Italy this month, he would be following in the footsteps of Italian-born players of Nigerian descent Stefano Okaka and Angelo Ogbonna who chose to play international football for the four-time world champions. 

Meanwhile, another fullback on the radar of Spalletti in Fiorentina starlet Michael Kayode could make his debut for Italy U21s as he has been named on a 26-man roster for a 2025 European Championship qualifier against Norway. 

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

Photo Credit: tottenhamhotspur.com 

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