‘Who am I?’ — Dessers opens up on battling with Osimhen for Super Eagles starting berth

Unity Cup hero Cyriel Dessers has spoken of his hopes to become the Super Eagles number one striker

Cyriel Dessers has laid bare the emotional toll of competing for Nigeria’s number nine shirt, admitting Victor Osimhen’s dominance makes the fight for minutes a brutal one.

Despite an impressive club record, Dessers continues to wait for his big moment in the national setup.

Dessers admits frustration over national team snubs

For a player with 51 goals and 16 assists in 109 appearances for Rangers, Cyriel Dessers has every reason to feel he deserves more from the national team.

But as he revealed in a candid interview, it hasn’t been that simple. “It hurts sometimes to miss out,” Dessers confessed, adding, “I’ve been in and around the squad for five years now, and I haven’t played an official game yet, only friendly games, so I must say that hurts.”

He pointed to the last two AFCON tournaments as particularly painful omissions, especially considering his form at the time.

Yet he knows the competition is fierce. “Of course, you have strikers like Victor Osimhen, who is a clear number one… Hey, it's a big country, there's a lot of competition, we have a lot of good strikers. Who am I?

Desserts still hopeful for Super Eagles chance

Rather than protest, Dessers keeps his focus on performance. “I’m not making the choices,” he said, adding, “The only thing I can do is perform, score goals, and show I’m ready.

“And when called up, like yesterday, for example, show what I can do for the team, how I can help the team with goals, but also with hard work and dedication,

Dessers won’t feature in Nigeria’s next friendly due to a family engagement, reportedly his wedding. But even in absence, he remains committed, hopeful, and determined to seize his chance when it finally comes.