Blow for Nigeria as Germany hand Nmecha maiden invitation for World Cup qualifiers twitter facebook reddit twitter facebook reddit

Germany have called up Nigerian descent Lukas Nmecha to their national team for the upcoming 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifiers against Liechtenstein and Armenia.

Nmecha is the only new invitee in Hansi Flick's team for next week's games and the decision comes as a blow for Nigeria who previously expressed their desire to have the winger represent them.

The 22-year-old was born to a Nigerian father and German mother in Hamburg but he was raised in Manchester which made him eligible to feature for either Nigeria, Germany or England on the international scene.

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The Wolfsburg star previously played for the England U16, U17, U18, U19, U20 and U21 teams with a total of 31 appearances under his belt before he switched to represent Germany U21.

A few months ago, he described Germany as his home amid reported moves from the Nigeria Football Federation to secure his services.

"I see Germany as my home," Nmecha told the Bundesliga website.

"I lived in Hamburg until I was nine, and still have a strong connection to the city and the people. I spoke about it with my mum, who is from Monchengladbach."

Nmecha has made a fine start to his debut season at Wolfsburg after his permanent signing from Manchester City and he has scored five goals in 13 appearances across all competitions.

The news comes as another setback for the three-time African champions after they lost Genk striker Ike Ugbo to the Canadian national team.

A few months ago, Ugbo pledged to play for Nigeria ahead of England and he said he was working on getting his papers ready but he changed his decision and Canada revealed him as their newest player on Thursday evening.

Meanwhile, Nigerians can take delight in Ademola Lookman's readiness to commit his international future to the Super Eagles.

NFF President Amaju Pinnick confirmed that the Leicester City striker has started the process to ditch England after playing for their youth teams, for a chance to feature in Gernot Rohr's squad.