Awoniyi opens up on June friendlies omission

Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi has confirmed that he held talks with Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle before invitations for the Unity Cup and June friendlies were sent out, but opted out for personal reasons, PUNCH Sports Extra reports. Awoniyi was a notable exclusion from both squads despite his return to form at Forest. He last featured for the Super Eagles in October 2024, playing 16 minutes in Nigeria’s 1-0 win over Libya in a 2025 AFCON qualifier. Before then, his previous appearance came in the 1-1 draw against Lesotho in Uyo during Nigeria’s opening match of the ultimately unsuccessful 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign. The 28-year-old has also missed two consecutive AFCON tournaments, but declined the opportunity to stake his claim for a return to the team after being approached for the upcoming friendlies against Poland and Portugal. Related News BREAKING: Players, officials injured as Rivers United team bus crashes in P’Harcourt FIFA bans refillable water bottles at World Cup venues EPL: Personal tragedies affected me last season – Konate “I was supposed to be in the Super Eagles camp, but I opted out because of personal reasons I have to attend to,” Awoniyi told SportsBoom. “We have lots of talents in the Super Eagles, so for me, everyone that is in the team for the June friendlies is as good as me, just as I’m as good as them,” he added. After struggling with fitness issues during the latter part of the previous campaign and the early stages of the just-concluded season, Awoniyi bounced back towards the end of the campaign to help Forest avoid relegation. Among his standout contributions was a brace against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge earlier in May, taking his tally to four goals and one assist in 17 appearances. The match marked only his second start of the campaign, and he made just one more start before the end of the season. Abiodun Adewale Abiodun, who reports Sports for PUNCH, covers different tiers of the Nigerian football league, the national teams, as well as cricket, in the last six years

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