Everton's Nigeria-eligible midfielder becomes provisionally cap-tied to England

Everton midfielder of Nigerian descent Malik Olayiwola has made his competitive debut for England's Young Lions, allnigeriasoccer.com reports.

After being an unused substitute in England's defeat to Scotland, the 16-year-old finally saw action as the Young Lions fell 1-0 to Lithuania in a UEFA European U17 Championship qualifier on Friday.

With six minutes remaining, head coach Liam Bramley introduced Olayiwola as a substitute for De Lisle, marking the teenager's first competitive appearance at U17 level.

As a result, Olayiwola is now provisionally cap-tied to England and can no longer represent Nigeria at international level unless he formally applies for a change of association.

The match was his third cap for England's youth teams, having previously featured for the U15 and U16 sides.

According to Everton's official website, Olayiwola describes himself as athletic, courageous and ambitious, and has expressed his eagerness to play at Everton's new stadium in the near future.

He becomes the second teenager of Nigerian descent to be provisionally cap-tied to England in recent days, following in the footsteps of Newcastle United midfielder Sam Alabi who started against Lithuania.

Olayiwola signed a scholarship deal with Everton in July 2025 and has made four appearances in the U18 Premier League so far this season.

Several members of Nigeria’s current Super Eagles squad also hold dual nationality and were eligible to represent other countries. 

These include Alex Iwobi, Ola Aina, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, Semi Ajayi, Ademola Lookman, Bright Osayi-Samuel and Joe Aribo for England; Calvin Bassey for Italy; Cyriel Dessers for Belgium; William Troost-Ekong for the Netherlands; and Maduka Okoye and Felix Agu for Germany.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

Photo Credit: englandfootball.com

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