Red-hot Noah Atubolu Chooses Germany Over Nigeria
Goalkeeper Noah Atubolu has made a firm statement about his international future, revealing that he is set to pursue a career with the German national team, turning down the opportunity to represent Nigeria.
Atubolu, 22, recently broke a Bundesliga record for the longest clean sheet streak by a Freiburg goalkeeper. In Freiburg’s goalless draw against RB Leipzig on Saturday at the Europa-Park Stadion, he extended his unbeaten run to 510 minutes, surpassing the previous record of 509 minutes set by club legend Richard Golz in the 2001-2002 season. The young goalkeeper has now gone 576 minutes without conceding a goal, the fifth-longest clean sheet streak in Bundesliga history, with his last concession coming against Bayern Munich on January 25.
Born to a German mother and Nigerian father, Atubolu was eligible to play for both Germany and Nigeria. His performances have caught the attention of the Nigeria Football Federation, with the promising goalkeeper being a potential option for the Super Eagles. Former Super Eagles coach Jose Peseiro even stated before the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations that convincing Atubolu to switch allegiances to Nigeria would be a difficult task, given his growing prospects with Germany.
Atubolu has represented Germany at youth levels, including U17, U19, and U20, and has played 15 times for the U21 team since making his debut in March 2022 during a European Championship qualifier against Latvia. With Germany’s March internationals against Italy approaching, Atubolu is among the young talents being closely watched by new Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann, alongside other dual-national prospects like Nnamdi Collins from Eintracht Frankfurt.
However, speaking to Sky Germany after his record-breaking performance on Saturday, Atubolu confirmed his intention to pursue an international career with Germany. He stated that his ultimate goal is to debut for Die Mannschaft, putting an end to any speculation about his potential switch to Nigeria.
Germany has previously successfully secured the commitments of dual nationals like Jamal Musiala, Lukas Nmecha, and Karim Adeyemi, while Nigeria has also been able to convince players like Kevin Akpoguma and Jordan Torunarigha to switch their allegiance to the Super Eagles after representing Germany’s youth teams.
