Glasgow Rangers of Scotland striker Cyriel Dessers has set his sights on finally getting a competitive debut for Nigeria before this year runs out and declared that he will continue raining goals for the Super Eagles anytime he is called upon to feature for the team.
Sports247 reports that Dessers, who was top scorer of the 2019/2020 season in the Dutch Eredivisie during his days with Heracles Almelo and repeated the same achievement this past campaign in the Scottish Premiership, has five Nigeria caps, but they all came during international friendlies.
The in-form striker with a Nigerian mother and Belgian father also has three goals for the Eagles but admitted he feels something is missing in his international career due to his lack of a competitive game, then vowed to keep working hard until his chance eventually comes.
Dessers pointed out, “I’ve been in and around the squad for five years now, but I haven’t played an official game, only friendly matches. So, I must say, that hurts. On the other hand, there are always a lot of different factors that account for it.
“One is that we have other strikers who are doing well; like Victor Osimhen … a clear number one in our attack. It also depends on form, on the coach’s choices and personal opinion of all the people in charge.”
With rave reviews still trailing his good show at the recent Unity Cup in London, where he scored in a 2-1 victory over Ghana and got an assist to aid Nigeria’s 2-2 draw with Jamaica in the final, which the Eagles then won 5-4 on penalties, Dessers looks good to finally get his competitive debut this year, but the mulatto star confessed he is still hurt by what he has already missed.
Dessers revealed, “I must say the two AFCONs that I missed really hurt me. I felt at that time that I was top of my form, and I deserved a place in the squads.
“It really hurt, but Nigeria is a big country, and there’s a lot of competition for spots in the national team. We also have a lot of good strikers. So, who am I to complain?”
He concluded by conceding that the best option for him, heading into the resumption of the FIFA 2026 World Cup qualifiers in September, is to just keep on scoring goals for his club and hope he will do well enough to attract the attention of Nigeria’s coach, Eric Chelle.
“I’m not the one making the choices. So, the only thing I can do is to perform well and score goals at my club … to ensure that I’m ready to be called up.
“Once I’m called upon, I should be able to show what I can do for the team. That I would have to do with goals, hard work and dedication,” said the 30-year-old Dessers, who played for Cremonense of Italy before joining The Gers in 2023.
