BY ANDREW EKEJIUBA
Crotone striker Simy Nwankwo said he ‘does not lose sleep’ over his omission from Gernot Rohr’s Super Eagles set-up.
The 28-year-old is yet to be summoned to the Nigeria national team since their outing at the 2018 Fifa World Cup in Russia where he played two matches.
Simy has been in fine goalscoring form in the Serie A this season with 19 goals after 33 appearances but Rohr does not see him in his plans and the striker, in turn, said he is not worried by the German coach’s snub.
“I need to make it clear that making the national team squad is not an obsession for me,” Nwankwo said. “I don’t lose sleep over it to be honest and I only focus on what is professionally expected of me by my club.
“I won’t say I am bothered about the Super Eagles. As a Nigerian I am a fan of the national team, we are all born to be fans of the Super Eagles.
“I share the same dream and ambition of every young footballer to one day represent the country. But it’s not in my hands, it’s not something I can control.
“I focus on the only thing that I can control, which is my day-to-day performances, improvement, becoming better every day, working hard and doing the things I have to do for my club.
“That’s the only thing that I am able to control. What happens in the Super Eagles is out of my control. If it happens again, it happens and if not…life goes on. I am not worried.”
Simy’s goalscoring run has helped him become Nigeria’s highest goalscorer in the Serie A history after overtaking former Inter Milan star Obafemi Martins with 29 goals.
Despite his contributions in front of goal, Crotone are rooted to the bottom of the Serie A table with 18 points after 33 matches.
“It’s a good feeling to be honest. On an individual level, scoring lot of goals for every striker is very important for your confidence and then breaking important records as well is something special,” he added.
“But I’ve had absolutely no time to think about it. It’s been a difficult year for us. Football is a collective sport.
“We’ve not been able to pick important results along the way that would’ve helped us staying up in the league. So it’s a kind of mixed feelings for me.
“I always prioritise the team’s collective results ahead of mine but it’s been really crazy this year but it’s a good feeling for a striker when you score goals and I’m glad.”
