man of the match: Tosin Adarabioyo

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With the win, Chelsea secured a place in the Round of 16 of the FIFA Club World Cup, where they will face Benfica—a reunion for Enzo Fernández against his former club.

In a post-match interview with Nigerian journalist Oma Akatugba — following Chelsea’s emphatic 4-1 win over Real Betis in the UEFA Europa Conference League final — the centre-back spoke candidly about his stance on playing for Nigeria.

“Yeah, so both of those pieces of news are pretty false,” Adarabioyo said. “I’ve never turned down Nigeria, and I’ve never had any conversations with them to say that I will be going to Nigeria.

“At the point of last season, when there was a little bit of conversation, I told the club I just wanted to focus on club football in my last year at Fulham. I just wanted to have a solid season at Fulham.

“Now I’m at Chelsea in my first year, which I wanted to concentrate on again, and I think now is going to be the time that I need to make a decision.”

This shows that the defender is open to representing the Super Eagles and that a final decision could be imminent.

The Super Eagles of Nigeria are preparing for their 2026 World Cup qualifiers and the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations tournament later in the year.

A call-up for Adarabioyo, if further ignored by the Three Lions, may see the defender donning the colours of his parents’ country.