It took less than four minutes for Rangers midfielder Joe Aribo to announce himself on the international stage last night.
The 23-year-old made his debut for the Super Eagles of Nigeria in a friendly against Ukraine, and he opened the scoring and his account with an early strike following a beautiful layoff from Alex Iwobi.
33’ And we are 2-0 up courtesy of this finish from debutant @J_Aribo19 and a penalty by @victorosimhen9 #SoarSuperEagles pic.twitter.com/njgdRjqOUn
— 🇳🇬 Super Eagles (@NGSuperEagles) September 10, 2019
Aribo earned his first call-up last week after his impressive start to 2019-20 at Ibrox under manager Steven Gerrard, and it’s safe to say his summer move from Charlton Athletic is starting to pay dividends.
Rangers coach Michael Beale was impressed with the fact that the England-born midfielder hit the ground running for Nigeria, and here is how he reacted to his goal in the 2-2 draw with Ukraine.
Love it @J_Aribo19 ⚽️👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 https://t.co/VI0aFfgG5W
— Michael Beale (@MichaelBeale) September 10, 2019
The Rangers star has featured in 12 appearances across all competitions for the Scottish Premiership giants this term, and has firmly established himself in Gerrard’s first XI plans.
Aribo isn’t expected to walk into the Super Eagles’ starting XI, though, with Leicester City’s Wilfried Ndidi and Stoke City’s Peter Etebo the favoured and long-term defensive midfield pairing.
The former wasn’t available yesternight due to injury, but the Rangers man has surely given Nigeria manager Gernot Rohr a selection headache following a wonderful debut.
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