Rising football defender plying his trade for Hertha Berlin, Jordan Torunarigha has turned down the chance to represent Nigeria at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Last month, the agent of the 19 year old Tomas Zorn revealed he has been offered a spot in the squad of Nigeria for the World Cup in Russia by coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr.
According to owngoalnigeria, the same agent has now revealed that his client turned down the offer, a decision which left Rohr disappointed according to the agent as he rates Torunarigha highly.
“I recently called the Nigerian coach, Gernot Rohr, and explained to him that Jordan would continue to play for Germany in the future. He thought it was a pity, but he understood”, Zorn was quoted as saying by German publication B.Z.
“The opportunity to play for Nigeria at the World Cup would, of course, have honoured me. After all, my father played for this country, too. However, it quickly became clear to me that I wanted to prove myself to the DFB. I’m new to the U21 and I really want to assert myself there.”
Many Nigerian football pundits believed adding Torunarigha would have given the super eagles greater defensive options at the world cup, considering the fact that he is comfortable playing across the backline.