Italy-born midfielder of Nigerian descent Michael Folorunsho is still eligible to play for the Super Eagles after he was unused by the Azzurri during the March international break.
Folorunsho earned his debut call-up to the Italian national team this month when he was named in Luciano Spalletti’s squad for the friendlies against Venezuela and Ecuador.
The Napoli midfielder, who is currently on loan at Hellas Verona, was rewarded with an invite for his great form this season in Serie A. The 26-year-old has been a crucial part of the club’s fight to avoid the drop, with his impressive performances in the middle of the park not going unnoticed. Folorunsho has featured in 27 of Hellas Verona’s 29 league matches this season and contributed four goals and one assist, whilst also winning the Serie A goal of the month in February.
His form caught the attention of Spalletti, who included him in the squad for the international friendlies in March. Before then, Folorunsho had been on the radar of both the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) and the Italian Football Federation (FIGC). However, having been born in Rome, he accepted the invitation to represent the country of his birth.
Folorunsho remains uncapped by Italy at senior level
Folorunsho’s invitation to the Italy national team seemed to have ended any hopes of the player featuring for Nigeria, but there remains a slim chance after he did not play in any of the friendly games.
Italy faced Venezuela last Thursday at the Chase Stadium in Florida, with Mateo Retegui scoring a double on either side of Darwin Machis’ equaliser to hand the Azzurri a 2-1 victory.
Folorunsho was named on the bench, with the Italy coach preferring the midfield pair of Manuel Locatelli and Giacomo Bonaventura in the 3-4-2-1 formation he deployed.
However, the former Lazio man didn’t play any part in the game, and had to watch the full 90 minutes from the bench as Jorginho and Nicolo Barella replaced Bonaventura and Locatelli, respectively, in the second half.
Folorunsho was once again an unused substitute when Italy took on Ecuador in their second international friendly on Sunday. This time, Spalletti picked Barella and Jorginho as his starting midfield duo as the Azzurri went on to record a comfortable 2-0 win against the South Americans.
Folorunsho still eligible for Super Eagles
The fact that Folorunsho did not feature in any of Italy’s international friendlies in March means he’s still eligible to play for Nigeria's Super Eagles.
Even if he had featured against Venezuela and Ecuador, it would only have complicated his potential nationality switch as he would still have yet to be capped in a competitive game for the Azzurri. Spalletti, though, remains a huge fan of Folorunsho, who he described as “a beast” after handing him his first international call-up.
“Buongiorno is very strong, Bellanova is a force of nature, Calafiori is ready, Fabbian is a surprise, Gaetano is playing now, Folorunsho is a beast and then Cambiaso, Baldanzi, Lucca, Carnesecchi, Di Gregorio, Provedel… There may be new petals in the squad. The list is 23 but I will bring four or six more to the pre-call [before the Euros],” Spalletti told Gazzetta dello Sport
Spalletti’s comments seem to suggest Folorunsho is still in contention to be included in Italy’s squad for the upcoming 2024 European Championships in Germany. The midfielder, however, faces tough competition for a place in Spalletti’s starting line-up, with Jorginho, Bonaventura, Locatelli and Barella all currently ahead of him in the pecking order.
Between now and June, it remains to be seen if Folorunsho would stick to biding his time with the Azzurri or reconsider switching nationality to play for the Super Eagles.
