Brentford of England defender Benjamin Frederick’s return to the Super Eagles has raised an ongoing debate among football fans regarding who will start in central defense for the Nigerian national team versus Madagascar on Friday.
Sports247 reports that the Eagles are scheduled to tango with the visitors from Antananarivo this Friday at Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo, in their first match of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, and Eric Chelle’s men need to start on a winning note.
Getting a victory could mean not conceding any goals, especially as head-to-head decisions might become crucial down the line, hence the debate about who will man the centre of Nigeria’s defense line during the upcoming encounter, especially with Fredrick back in the mix.
The youngster, who got his career breakthrough with ABS FC of Ilorin in 2021, before moving to Nasarawa United of Lafia a year later, from where he first gained a loan deal at Brentford in 2023, had already cemented his place in the Nigerian squad before he was knocked out by injury.
That injury, which he copped in December 2025, ruled Fredrick out of the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, where the Eagles went on to finish third, with Calvin Bassey and Semi Ajayi enacting a neat understanding in the back four, and both showed great potential.
With Bassey now doing even better at Fulham of England, while captaining his club at the start of the English Premier League season, and Ajayi also featuring regularly in the top-flight with Hull City, it’s left to be seen if Fredrick can play himself back into reckoning.
Fredrick’s chances of upstaging Bassey and Ajayi is now powering a debate that was launched on social media at the start of the Super Eagles’ latest camp on Monday, but additional information revealed that the 21-year-old stopper also has to ward off pressure from two other defenders.
The other two in-form defenders who were cited in the debate alongside Fredrick are Chibuike Nwaiwu from Trabzonspor of Turkey and Emmanuel Fernandez from Glasgow Rangers of Scotland, who have both recently been in the spotlight with their clubs, while also showing great promise with the Eagles.
A viral post that was shared by both fenestrae and Football Fans Tribe noted, “Good to see Benjamin Fredrick back in the National Team set up but who will you prefer as a starting Centre-Back Partnership? Calvin Bassey, Benjamin Fredrick, Semi Ajayi, Chibuike Nwaiwu, Emmanuel Fernandez.”
Sports247 reports further that the onus is now on Fredrick to prove he still has what it takes to upstage Bassey and Ajayi, which surely is an uphill task for the lad who previously played on loan at Dender EH of Belgium, after signing a short term contract on July 25th, 2025.
Fredrick earlier featured for the Flying Eagles’ squad that finished third at the 2023 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt and was in the youth team that went to the same year’s FIFA U-20 World Cup, following which he debuted with the senior national side against Jamaica on May 31st, 2025.
