'It's incredible to play for Nigeria' - History maker Lookman has no regrets choosing Super Eagles over England

Ademola Lookman put up the best performance of his club career to inspire Atalanta to claim their first-ever European title, following a 3-0 rout of Victor Boniface and Nathan Tella's Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League final at the Dublin Arena on Wednesday night. 

Bayer Leverkusen's incredible run is over as they were finally beaten in their 52nd game of the 2023-2024 season although there is a chance of Xabi Alonso's side winning the domestic double. 

Atalanta finally won their first major trophy thanks to three outstanding finishes from their Nigeria international who broke the deadlock in the 12th minute with a close range effort after getting ahead of Palacios.

Lookman doubled the advantage when he nutmegged Granit Xhaka before curling a superb shot into the bottom corner from 20 yards out in the 26th minute, and got his hat-trick fifteen minutes from time by firing into the roof of the net. 

The former Everton and Charlton Athletic man is the first player in history to score a hat-trick in the final of the Europa League. 

London-born Lookman represented England at U19, U20 and U21 levels and was a World Cup winner with the Young Lions in 2017 before switching his allegiance to Nigeria, where his parents originally hail from. 

The 26-year-old shone in his first major tournament for Nigeria, scoring three goals and providing an assist to help the Super Eagles reach the final of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. 

Speaking after the Europa League final, Lookman underlined that he has no regrets about playing for the three-time African champions.

"It's incredible [to play for Nigeria]. The support and the love I get back home from the people is unbelievable," Lookman was quoted as saying by the official website of UEFA. 

"It gives me the motivation to evolve in different areas – as a person, not just in my game."

Since the beginning of 2024, Lookman has participated in every match played by the Super Eagles, bringing his total appearances for the national team to 21 since his debut in a World Cup qualifier against Ghana in March 2022.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

Photo Credit: uefa.com

Copyright ANS
All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from allnigeriasoccer.com