West Bromwich Albion of England striker, Daryl Enyinnaya Dike has confessed that ‘fear of the unknown’ made him opt for an international future with Team USA, instead of following the footsteps of his brother, Bright, and sister, Courtney.
Sports247 reports that, while Bright Dike scored two goals in three matches for the Super Eagles and Courtney was a regular in the Super Falcons for a number of years, Daryl eventually became a bit-part player in Team USA.
Read Also: AFCON 2025: Social Media Influencer Teetalks Toseen Warns – ‘I’m Scared Super Eagles Will Play Draw With Tunisia’ | Sports247 Nigeria
Daryl, who already has three goals in ten caps for the country where he was born, pointed out that he hardly knew anything about Nigeria, hence the worries he harboured over facing ‘uncertainties’ in the Super Eagles.
This is despite the fact that he is also a cousin to former Super Eagles winger, Emmanuel Amuneke, who emerged as African Footballer of The Year 1994 after shining at the World Cup in USA.
Amuneke was also part of Nigeria’s gold medal-winning under-23 squad at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, USA; all of which should have boosted Daryl’s interest in playing for Nigeria.
Along the line, Daryl, who is the youngest of five siblings born to Nigerian parents in Edmond, Oklahoma, USA, watched his older sister, Courtney Dike achieves remarkable feats with Nigeria’s junior and senior female national teams.
She scored the fastest ever goal in the history of the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup, when she netted after just 13 seconds against North Korea on June 10, 2014; then got a FIFA Women’s World Cup debut versus Australia at the 2015 edition.
Despite all these heroics from his older brother and sister in Nigeria’s colours, Daryl, who joined West Brom from Barnsley earlier this year, opted for Team USA and got his debut versus Trinidad & Tobago on January 3, 2021.
The 25-year-old forward has now admitted that a major worrying thought for him was that he might not have a chance of breaking through in the Super Eagles’ star-studded front line, but his opportunities appeared to be better with Team USA.
Although Daryl acknowledged that USA also have a fair chunk of top forwards to contend with, his familiarity with the terrain made it easier for him to confront them and face up boldly to their challenges.
He concluded by stressing that he has no regrets about opting for the USMNT, which he reckons gave him a chance of allegiance for the country where he was born and being able to represent millions of people among whom he grew up.
Daryl told Adebayo Akinfenwa’s Beast Mode podcast: “Every footballer wants to represent their country. Fortunately, I have Nigeria and the USA.
“I have my Nigerian roots. Nigeria has tons of phenomenal strikers, who knows if I would even have been called by Nigeria. I grew up in the USA.
“It was a big part of me, a country I grew up in my entire life. I wouldn’t brush it aside or leave it for something that may not even happen.
“Even then, I’m looking at the USA and thinking ‘they have got an exciting squad here’ – Tyler Adams, Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Serginio Dest.
“There are tons of big names going around (and) I’m like ‘I can be part of this.’ It’s an honour, I love this and want to be a part of this.”
