Leeds United loanee no longer eligible for Super Eagles after cap-tying game for Switzerland

Switzerland have won the recruitment battle for versatile Leeds United loanee Isaac Schmidt following the defender's cap-tying appearance for The Red Crosses on Monday night, allnigeriasoccer.com reports. 

Born in Lausanne to a Swiss-German father and Nigerian mother, he was eligible to represent the national teams of Germany and Nigeria prior to his competitive debut for Switzerland in a 2026 World Cup qualifier against Slovenia at Basel's St. Jakob-Park. 

Wearing the number 23 shirt, Schmidt came off the bench to replace Silvan Widmer in the 62nd minute, a substitution that officially cap-tied him to Switzerland.

Since he is not an U21 player, the Werder Bremen fullback is ineligible to switch his international allegiance from Switzerland to Nigeria.

Under current Fifa regulations, players can switch allegiance only if they have played three or fewer senior games before turning 21.

The 25-year-old Schmidt featured in two friendlies for Switzerland's U20 side and made three non-competitive appearances for the senior team before marking his official debut tonight.

He followed in the footsteps of Eseosa Aigbogun, Noah Okafor, Simon Sohm and Manuel Akanji, all of whom were eligible to represent Nigeria before cap-tying appearances for Switzerland.

Swiss-born duo Sebastian Osigwe and Onyinyechi Zogg have pledged their international futures to Nigeria, but both remain eligible to switch allegiance to Switzerland as they are yet to make competitive appearances for the African powerhouse.

Osigwe played for the Flying Eagles at the 2013 Toulon Tournament and was an unused substitute in Nigeria's Africa Cup of Nations double-header against Sierra Leone in November 2020 while Zogg has turned out in friendly matches for the Super Falcons.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

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