Scotland make move to beat Nigeria to the services of two talented Celtic players

The Scottish Football Association have made a move to beat the Nigerian Federation to the services of two talented players on the books of Celtic by handing them call-ups for international friendlies in February 2025, allnigeriasoccer.com reports.

While Emmanuel Obidiwe has been named in the Scotland U16 squad for three friendly matches as part of a UEFA Youth Development Tournament, Scotland Women's U17 head coach, Michael Tuohy has included Dara Ositelu in his 24-player squad for the 2025 edition of the MIMA Cup in San Pedro del Pinatar, Spain.

Since making her debut for Scotland youth team against Portugal in March 2024, she has totaled three appearances for the U16s, scoring once in a 2-0 win over Kosovo.

Born in 2009, the 15-year-old will strive for a place in Scotland U17s' starting XI, after making four appearances off the bench in the fall of 2024.

The forward is provisionally cap-tied to Scotland, having featured against Iceland in an U17 Euro qualifier back in October. 

A product of Eastwood High School, Dara has yet to make her competitive debut for Celtic. 

Obidiwe, one of the six Celtic youngsters called up by Stephen Clarke, will be hoping to feature in games against Cyprus (February 19), Romania (February 21) and Northern Ireland (February 24).

He is seemingly a fan of the Super Eagles as he follows the three-time African champions on social media. 

Ifeoma Dieke, Chris Iwelumo, and Ikechi Anya are three notable former players who chose to represent Scotland instead of Nigeria at senior level, and time will tell if Ositelu and Obidiwe will make the same decision.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

Photo Credit: celticfc.com

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