Super Eagles and Rangers forward Cyriel Dessers says he still feels “hurt” by his continued absence from Nigeria’s competitive matches, despite enjoying one of the best seasons of his career.
The 30-year-old, who was born in Belgium but represents Nigeria at international level, has been part of the Super Eagles set-up since 2020, but all eight of his caps have come in friendly fixtures.
“It hurts sometimes [to miss out on these tournaments], it feels disappointing, I’ve been in and around the squad for five years now, and i haven’t played an official game yet, only friendly games, so i must say that hurts.” Dessers told Nigerian journalist Victor Modo.
Dessers made his debut for Nigeria under former manager Gernot Rohr on 13 October 2020, at the age of 25 years and 10 months. Since then, he has scored three goals for the national team, but is yet to feature in a major tournament.
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He admits missing out on the Africa Cup of Nations in 2021 and 2023 was especially difficult to take.
“The two AFCON tournaments I missed out [on] really hurts, because I felt that at that time, that moment with my form, I had a place in the squad,” he said.
“But hey, it’s a big country, there’s a lot of competition, we have a lot of good strikers. Who am I?”
The striker’s comments come at the end of a prolific season for Rangers, where he scored 29 goals in 55 matches across all competitions.
Since joining the Glasgow side in 2023, Dessers has now registered 51 goals and 16 assists in 109 appearances, establishing himself as a key figure.
Despite his form at club level, he has often found himself behind the likes of Napoli’s Victor Osimhen in Nigeria’s pecking order.
“Of course, you have a few strikers, like, for example, Victor Osimhen, who is a clear number one,” he said. “And there are always others. It always depends on form, on choices, on personal opinion.”
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Dessers insists he will continue to work hard and remain ready for future opportunities.
“I’m not making the choices. The only thing I can do is perform, score my goals at my club, and show that I’m ready, and when called up, like yesterday for example, show what I can do for the team — how I can help the team with goals, but also with hard work and dedication. ”he added.
Dessers will not feature in Nigeria’s upcoming friendly against Russia on Friday, having been excused from the squad due to a family engagement.
